What percentage of students in Houston Independent School District are proficient in reading?
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About 23% of 4th graders and 21% of 8th graders were considered proficient in reading in 2024, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, assesses 4th and 8th graders’ progress in reading and math approximately every two years.
23%
of Houston Independent School District 4th graders were proficient in reading in 2024
21%
of Houston Independent School District 8th graders were proficient in reading in 2024
The NAEP uses a scale of 0-500 points to group 4th and 8th students into three achievement levels (basic, proficient, or advanced). "Proficient" is the benchmark used to describe students who demonstrate competency with challenging subject matter. However, NAEP proficiency is not the same as being on "grade level," which is often assessed by other state and district tests. More information on NAEP skill expectations at each grade level is available here.
In 2024, 7% of 4th graders in Houston Independent School District were advanced in reading and 16% were proficient, which means that about 7 out of 9 (77%) scored at basic or below. In 8th grade, 79% scored at basic or below.
In Houston Independent School District, 4th grade reading proficiency scores in 2024 were not significantly different from Texas overall. 8th grade proficiency was lower than the Texas average.
In 2024, the percentage of Houston Independent School District 4th graders at a proficient or advanced reading level was similar to the Texas average.
Percentage of students at each NAEP achievement level in 4th and 8th grade in 2024 in Houston Independent School District and Texas
How has reading proficiency changed over time?
From this point onward, “proficiency” includes students who were at or above proficient in reading (proficient and advanced students).
Among 4th graders, reading proficiency in Houston Independent School District was lower than Texas in 10 test years (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022). In all other test years, there was not a significant difference between Houston Independent School District and Texas. Among 8th graders, reading proficiency was lower in Houston Independent School District than Texas in every test year.
Data are available in Houston Independent School District beginning in 2002.
Houston Independent School District 4th graders had lower reading proficiency than Texas in 10 out of 12 test years
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders proficient in reading in Houston Independent School District, Texas, and the US, 2002–2024
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How do Houston Independent School District students compare to other districts in reading proficiency?
The NAEP collected data in 25 other large urban school districts in 2024. Houston Independent School District had 184,109 students enrolled as of the 2023-24 school year, making it the eighth-largest district in this sample.
Among 4th grade students, Houston Independent School District had the eighth-lowest reading proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 17 percentage points lower in proficiency than San Diego Unified School District, the district with the highest rate (39%).
Among 8th grade students, Houston Independent School District had the 10th-lowest reading proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 16 percentage points lower in proficiency than San Diego Unified School District, the district with the highest rate (37%).
Houston Independent School District is eighth-lowest in 4th grade reading proficiency and 10th-lowest in 8th grade among the 26 districts tested
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders in each district who were proficient in reading in 2024
Why is there data for Houston Independent School District but not all districts?
The NAEP randomly chooses public, private, and charter schools from across the country and in each state and Washington, DC to participate in testing. This random process ensures that the test scores from students in these schools represent how the US and each state are performing as a whole. In addition to national- and state-level reporting, for several years the NAEP has also administered the test to a random sample of schools within 26 of the nation's largest school districts in 2024, of which Houston Independent School District was one.
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
