Map Shows States Where Most US Kids Fail Basic Kindergarten Tests
Summary
Kindergarten readiness assessments found that more than half of children missed their state’s overall benchmark in Ohio, Florida, Kentucky and Maryland. Across all five states examined, girls and children who were not classified as economically disadvantaged had higher readiness rates; white children also scored above Black and Hispanic/Latino children.Key Facts
- In 2024–2025 assessments, 63 percent of Ohio children, 57 percent of Florida children and 54 percent of Kentucky children did not meet their state’s readiness benchmark.
- In Maryland’s 2023–2024 assessment, 56 percent of children did not meet the benchmark.
- Connecticut did not report an overall readiness rate; fewer than half of children met benchmarks in four of six skill areas.
- In Connecticut, 59 percent of children missed the language and literacy benchmark, and 55 percent missed the numeracy and social skills benchmarks.
- Girls had higher readiness rates than boys in all five states; the gap ranged from 4 percentage points in Florida to 12 points in Maryland.
- Economically disadvantaged children had lower readiness rates in all five states, with gaps ranging from 18 percentage points in Florida to 31 points in Ohio.
- White children had higher readiness rates than Black and Hispanic/Latino children in all five states. In Maryland, white children were about 15 percentage points above the state average, while Hispanic/Latino children were about 20 points below it.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
