READING ACROSS THE NATION: A Chartbook · READING ACROSS THE NATION: A Chartbook November 2007 Reach Out and Read National Center UCLA Center for ... Reading Across the Nation

READING ACROSS THE NATION: A ChartbookNovember 2007

Reach Out and Read National Center

UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families, & Communities

Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics

ror.final 10/29/07 5:21 PM Page 2

Suggested Citation:Russ S, Perez V, Garro N, Klass P, Kuo AA, Gershun M, Halfon N, Zuckerman B. Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook (2007): Reach Out and Read National Center, Boston, MA.

Contributing Authors:Russ S, Perez V, Garro N, Klass P, Kuo AA, Gershun M, Halfon N, Zuckerman B.

Acknowledgements:The authors wish to thank Kandyce Larson PhD, Moira Inkelas PhD, Louba Benassaya BSc, and Galena Kolchugina MPPfrom UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, and Nancy Berman from Reach Out and Read fortheir helpful comments during the preparation of this chartbook.

Reach Out and Read National Center56 Roland Street, Suite 100DBoston, MA 02129-1243phone: 617-455-0600fax: 617-455-0601.website: www.reachoutandread.org

UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities1100 Glendon Ave., Suite 850Los Angeles, CA 90024phone: (310) 794-2583fax: (310) 794-2728website: www.healthychild.ucla.edu

Boston University School of MedicineBoston Medical Center - Department of Pediatrics771 Albany Street, Suite 3509Boston, MA 02118phone: 617-414-7424fax: 617-414-3833

This publication is available on the following websites:UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communitieswww.healthychild.ucla.eduand Reach Out and Read National Centerhttp://www.reachoutandread.org/


Alabama 22Alaska 23Arizona 24Arkansas 25California 26Colorado 27Connecticut 28Delaware 29District of Columbia 30Florida 31Georgia 32Hawaii 33Idaho 34Illinois 35Indiana 36Iowa 37Kansas 38Kentucky 39Louisiana 40Maine 41Maryland 42Massachussetts 43Michigan 44Minnesota 45Mississippi 46Missouri 47

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4

INTRODUCTION 8

NATIONAL CHARTS 12

READING STATE BY STATE 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Montana 48Nebraska 49Nevada 50New Hampshire 51New Jersey 52New Mexico 53New York 54North Carolina 55North Dakota 56Ohio 57Oklahoma 58Oregon 59Pennsylvania 60Rhode Island 61South Carolina 62South Dakota 63Tennessee 64Texas 65Utah 66Vermont 67Virginia 68Washington 69West Virginia 70Wisconsin 71Wyoming 72

STATE BY STATE NARRATIVES 74

Appendix 96Footnotes 100References 101


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Reading Across the Nation is designed as a resource for policymakers and professionals who are working tooptimize the early language and literacy experiences of young children. By presenting “reading snap-shots” for each state, with comparative rankings on literacy indicators, this chartbook will be a usefultool for policy makers and program planners as they consider how to make investments in the early yearsto enhance literacy and language development. The charts provide detailed state by state informationabout whether parents are meeting the basic recommendation of daily reading aloud to their children.Data on frequency of reading to young children are from the National Survey of Children’s Health(2003), in which families of a nationally representative sample of children were interviewed by tele-phone about early childhood routines (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2005). For eachstate, data are also presented on fourth grade reading performance from the National Assessment ofEducational Progress (NAEP) (2005). Reach Out and Read (ROR) National Center data (2007) andUS census data (2000) are used to derive proportions of young children ages 0-5 years in each state whoare served by ROR, both in the general population and for those families living in or near poverty. Dataare also presented on the ratio of young children to libraries for each state.

The Problem: Children entering school not ready to learnUp to one-third of American children enter kindergarten lacking at least some of the skills needed for asuccessful learning experience. For too many children, the preschool years have left them without thelanguage skills necessary for literacy acquisition. When children are poor readers by the end of first grade,they are likely to remain so in fourth grade. Interventions in the early years that promote language devel-opment are powerful, cost-effective routes to improved school performance. The National ResearchCouncil’s Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children stated that most read-ing difficulties can be prevented by promoting language and literacy development. Snow CE, Burns S,Griffin P (Eds) (1998)

The Solution: Parents reading aloudParents reading frequently to their children provide language and literacy skills that help children learnto read. Helping children to prepare for the challenge of learning to read before school entry is betterthan helping them catch up later. Reading aloud is the single most important activity for building theknowledge required for eventual success in reading. Early language skills, the foundation for later read-ing ability, are based primarily on language exposure and human interaction – parents and other adultstalking to young children. The more words parents use when speaking to an eight-month-old infant, thegreater the size of the child’s vocabulary at age three. Many children from low-income families hear fewer

4

Authors:Russ S, Perez V, Garro N,

Klass P, Kuo AA, Gershun M,Halfon N, Zuckerman B

Reach Out and Read National Center

UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families,

& Communities

Boston UniversitySchool of Medicine,

Boston Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics

Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook | October 2007


words and learn fewer words and their limited vocabularies essentially leave them language delayed atschool entry, which places them at educational risk. Of all parent-child activities, reading aloud providesthe richest exposure to language, so promotion of reading aloud, especially for children from more disad-vantaged backgrounds, holds great promise for strengthening school readiness and laying a strong foun-dation for future educational success.

Reach Out and Read:An inexpensive, efficient and effective intervention to promote parents reading aloud.While there are many programs that contribute to children’s emerging literacy, Reach Out and Readoffers an evidence-based cost-effective strategy for reaching the families most at risk in the first years oflife. Pediatricians and other child health clinicians advise parents to read to their children daily and givechildren new developmentally appropriate books at each of the 10 pediatric visits from age 6 months to5 years. Compared to families who have not par-ticipated, parents who have received Reach Outand Read are significantly more likely to read totheir children and to have more children’s booksin their homes. Children exposed to the programalso show increased vocabularies on testing. Reach Out and Read programs already operate in practicesand clinics in every state; by adopting the program on a statewide basis and working with the Reach Outand Read National Center to bring the program to all high-risk children, states could have a markedimpact on early language and literacy experiences, paving the way for later school success.

Key Findings from Reading Across the Nation■ Across the nation just under half of children between birth and five years (47.8%) are read to every

day by their parents or other family members. ■ The percentage of families reading to their children every day varies by state and by race/ethnicity

and family income within states.■ In virtually every state, minority and low-income children are less likely to be read to every day than

their non-minority and higher income peers.■ If a family member has some college education, 55% of children are read to every day, compared with

31% of children from families where no one completed high school.■ Only 30% of children from households where the primary language is not English were read to daily

compared with 51% where the primary home language is English.

5

The more words parents use when speaking to an eight-month old infant, the greater the size of the child’s vocabulary at age three.

October 2007 | Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook


Ranking of Daily Reading by States: Top 5 States

Bottom 5 States

■ Patterns of daily reading show a strong income gradient, with 59% of children from families withincomes >400% Federal Poverty Level read to daily compared with only 36% with incomes below theFederal Poverty Level.

How do the findings vary by state? ■ Reading varies significantly by state ranging from 67.6% of young children read to daily in Vermont

compared with just 38.1% in Mississippi.■ The top 5 states for rates of daily reading to young children (Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire,

Connecticut and Massachusetts are all in the Northeast. The bottom 4 states (Alabama, Texas,Louisiana and Mississippi) are all in the South.

■ Similar geographic patterns are observed for 4th grade reading proficiencies with Massachusetts, NewHampshire and Connecticut at the top, and Louisiana and Mississippi ranking 49th and 50th.

■ The proportion of children served by ROR varies from almost 80% in South Dakota, where the pro-gram receives full state funding support, to less than 1% in Wyoming.

6 Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook | October 2007

Sample National ChartFive national charts are presented

on patterns of reading to young children across the United States.

Children from families with lower incomes

are less likely to be read to every day, and more likely to be reported as

never read to, compared with children from

higher-income families

EXHIBIT 4: Frequency of Reading to Children Age 0-5 by Family Income, United States, 2003

17

Less Than100% FPL

100-199%FPL

200-299%FPL

300-399%FPL

400% orMore FPL

In 2003, the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) was $18,400 for a family of four.

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Pe

rce

nt

of

Ch

ild

ren

(%

)

Every day

3-6 Days a Week

1-2 Days a Week

Zero Days

■

■

■

44%

33%

15%

8%

36%

12%

20%

32%

53%

32%

11%

5%

59%

29%

8%

4%

48%

35%

11%

6%


FloridaNevadaAlabamaTexasLouisianaMississippi

United States

42.942.642.641.741.238.1

47.8

TABLE 1: Ranking of Daily Reading Among States

VermontMaineNew HampshireConnecticutMassachusettsMinnesota

67.663.960.758.057.857.1

STATE READ TO DAILY (%)


What are the policy implications? These data will help states determine targets to increase the number of parents reading aloud to theirchildren daily. While some progress is being made in early literacy, there is clearly much more that canbe done. Review of state profiles will assist policymakers to determine whether acting now to increaseinvestment in effective evidence-based programs such as Reach Out and Read could improve their state’sreading profiles. To find out how your state is doing, download a free copy of the chartbook, or just printout your state’s page from www.healthychild.ucla.edu or from www.reachoutandread.org

7October 2007 | Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook

Sample State ChartState charts provide “snapshots” of patterns of reading to young children, early childhood literacy resources, and school performance data for each state in the nation.

Parent report of reading frequencies

from NSCH (2003)

Data on # children served from ROR (2007) and

Census (2000)

Data from NAEP (2005) and Census (2000)

Proportion of students in state above cut-off

for reading proficiency NAEP (2005)

Parent report of grade repetition from NSCH

(2003)

Percentage of young children read to daily:state, national and state ranking

State

Racial/ethnic distribution of young children in the state

Income distributionof families with young children in the state

FLORIDA

31

White (non-Hispanic)

Black (non-Hispanic)

Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Florida (N~1.1 million)

Income Distribution among Children Age 0-5 in Florida (N~1.1 million)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

46

463546

2850

4641

161747*

28

45*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

42.9

34.148.151.0

53.930.4

/29.1

/

42.743.1

14.929.22,238

30

16.5

FLORIDA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL

Parental Reading% Children ages 0-5 read to daily 1

% Daily reading by poverty level 1

Less than 200% FPL200-399% FPL400% FPL or greater

% Daily reading by race/ethnicity 1

White (non-Hispanic)Non-White

Black (non-Hispanic)HispanicOther/Multiple Race

% Daily reading by age 1

Children age 0-3 years read to dailyChildren age 4-5 years

Early Childhood Literacy Resources% Children served by ROR 2

% Children in/near poverty served by ROR 2

Number of children age 0-5 per public library 3

School Performance% Students at or above Proficient in reading, Grade 4 4

% Children age 6-17 who have repeated at least one grade1



INTRODUCTION

his chartbook provides both national and state by state information about whether parents are meet-ing the recommendation of daily reading aloud to their children. These data will help states determine

targets to increase the number of parents reading to their children daily. Data on frequency of reading toyoung children are from the National Survey of Children’s Health (2003) in which families of a nation-ally representative sample of children were interviewed by telephone about early childhood routines (USDepartment of Health and Human Services, 2005). The percentage of families reading to their childrenevery day varies by state and by race/ethnicity and family income within states. In virtually every state,

minority and low income children are less likely tobe read to every day than their non-minority andhigher SES peers. By increasing the percentage ofparents who read aloud every day, a state canincrease the proportion of young children whoreceive essential early language and literacy stimu-

lation, and change the odds for low-income children so that they arrive at school with better preparationand a greater chance of school success. While there are many programs that contribute to children’semerging literacy, Reach Out and Read (ROR) offers states a proven, practical, straightforward and lowcost intervention to bring to scale. Pediatricians and other child health clinicians advise parents to readto their children daily and to give children new developmentally appropriate books at each of the 10 pedi-atric visits from 6 months to 5 years. Reach Out and Read offers an evidence-based cost-effective strate-gy for reaching the families most at risk in the first years of life, when intervention yields most dramaticresults. It also places parents at the center of the intervention by giving them information and the “tools”to help their children. Reach Out and Read programs already operate in practices and clinics in everystate; by adopting the program on a statewide basis and working with the Reach Out and Read NationalCenter to bring the program to all high-risk children, states could have a marked impact on early languageand literacy experiences, paving the way for later school success.

The Problem: Children entering school not ready to learn

Since the mid-1980s reports have suggested that up to one-third of American children are enteringkindergarten underprepared to learn, most because their preschool years and home environment haveleft them with fewer language skills than necessary for literacy acquisition (Anderson, Hiebert & Scottet al, 1985). More recent data suggest that the situation is probably not improving (Chandler, Nord,Lennon et al, 1999). These children may struggle to learn the basics of reading in the first years of school.When children are poor readers at the end of first grade, they are more likely to remain poor readers by

8

By increasing the percentage of parents who read aloud everyday, a state can increase the proportion of young children whoreceive essential early language and literacy stimulation.

T



the end of fourth grade (Juel & Leavell, 1988). Low-income children are at highest risk for literacy fail-ure. The 2005 Nation’s Report Card on Reading reported that children from low-income families hadlower reading scores in grades 4 and 8 than their peers from middle class families (Perie, Grigg &Donahue, 2005).

The National Research Council’s Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in YoungChildren stated that most reading difficulties can be prevented by promoting language and literacydevelopment (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Parents reading frequently to their children (Bus, VanIjzendoorn, & Pellegrini, 1995; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) provide language and literacy skills thathelp children learn to read.

The Solution: Parents reading aloud

Interventions early in life are essential for low income children to enter school ready to learn, and arenow understood to have particularly powerful effects on the developing brain. While help with learningto read occurs throughout the school years, preparing children to read before school is better than help-ing them catch up later; “the economic return from early interventions is high, and the return from laterinterventions is lower (Heckman 2006).” Achild’s chance of learning to read in the earlyschool years reflects the language and literacyskills that child has acquired in early life, andespecially in the home. Reading aloud has beenshown to build the kinds of language skills that areessential to later success in learning to read (NELP 2007.) (IRA & NAEYC, 1998).

Why Is Reading Aloud So Important?

Even very young children enjoy being read to—and the parental attention that goes with it—and arelikely to request it over and over; the repetition is enjoyable to the child and important for cognitivedevelopment and emerging language skills. Even picture books and language in simple children’s booksenhance children’s learning and vocabulary because of the conversations between parent and childwhich take place around books and stories. Rhyming books emphasize recurring patterns of sounds thatare particularly helpful to the child when they then begin to sound out words and letters. Early languageskills, the foundation for later reading ability, are based primarily on language exposure and human inter-action – parents and other adults talking to young children. Words can be in any language, usually one

9

A child’s chance of learning to read in kindergarten and firstgrade reflects the language and literacy skills that child hasacquired in early life, and especially in the home.



the parent is most comfortable using. Research shows that the more words parents use when speaking toan eight month old infant, the greater the size of the child’s vocabulary at age three (Hart & Risley,1995); words heard on television and radio programs do not have the same impact on brain activity orlearning as a live, spoken conversation.

Many children from low income families hear fewer words and learn fewer words and their limitedvocabularies essentially leave them fewer language skills at school entry, placing them at educational risk(Hart & Risley, 1995). For these low-income children to succeed in school, they must reach the age ofthree without suffering delays in their language and their learning.

Of all parent-child activities, reading aloud provides the richest exposure to language. Recentadvances in neuroscience have shown how the language exposure and the associated enjoyment changea young child’s brain architecture, developing neural connections that allow more success in reading andlearning. Reading aloud to young children stimulates cognitive skills and builds motivation, curiosity,and memory. It also strengthens essential early literacy and school readiness skills such as book handling,picture recognition, and the understanding of story and narrative.

Finally, parents who read to their children are modeling reading. Young children always imitate theirparents (holding a phone, sweeping a broom, swinging a baseball bat) and they will pretend to read famil-iar books to their dolls or stuffed animals, imitating the parent reading until they can read themselves.

Reach Out and Read: An inexpensive, efficient and effective intervention to promote parents reading aloud.

For almost two decades, through the Reach Out and Read program, doctors and nurses have told parentshow important it is to read aloud to children from an early age, and provided them with the tools—the

books—that they need to follow that advice.Reach Out and Read has successfully promotedlanguage development among both English andnon-English speaking families by encouragingreading aloud and making books accessible inmultiple languages. Research findings from many

published peer-reviewed studies show Reach Out and Read is effective. Compared to families who havenot participated, parents who have received Reach Out and Read are significantly more likely to read totheir children, and they have more children’s books in their homes (Weitzman et al., 2004; Needlmanet al., 2005). Most important, children served by the Reach Out and Read program show an increase of4-8 points on vocabulary tests (Mendelsohn et al., 2001). For a two-year-old child, this increase repre-

10

Compared to families who have not participated, parents who have received Reach Out and Read aresignificantly more likely to read to their children.



sents an approximate six-month gain, developmentally speaking, preventing that dangerous early ‘fallingbehind’ which has been observed and measured in many low-income children.

The primary cost of Reach Out and Read is the cost of the children’s books, since the doctors whodeliver the message—and the books—do so as part of routine primary care visits. At deep discounts theaverage book cost is $2.75. Since children average two visits to their doctor per year, the program costs$5.50 per child per year. Since there are ten pediatric visits from age 6 months to 5 years, children startschool with at least ten books in their house.

Why Is Reach Out And Read So Effective and Cost-Effective?

A Trusted Messenger:Parents trust and value the advice they receive from their child’s physician. Reach Out and Read isunique in using a trusted authority figure and the special setting of the medical visit, to promote a child’slearning.

Broad Scope and Reach:The program reaches all children who visit ROR providers for primary care and the message is repeatedevery time they visit their doctor until age five.

Guidance Parents Can Follow:The doctors and nurses are not just giving advice to parents but are also giving them the tools to followthat advice in the form of free developmentally appropriate books.

Children Want Parents to Read to Them:By age one, if there are books in the home, children will “demand” to hear them read aloud. The posi-tive, loving attention centering around reading aloud motivates children to initiate the interaction againand again.

As pediatricians, we are keenly aware of the discrepancies in home environment, in early stimulation,and in language and early literacy skills which place so many children, especially low-income children, at a great disadvantage by the time they start school. We hope this chartbook, which providesdata on patterns of reading to young children across the nation, will prove useful in planning for earlylanguage and literacy promotion in your state. States have the opportunity to join physicians and nursepractitioners to emphasize the goal of increased reading aloud to young children, and to provide statesupport to make the benefits of the Reach Out and Read program available to all children at risk, so theycan arrive at school ready to learn.



12


13

NATIONAL CHARTS:

he following five charts represent data on patterns of reading to young children across the UnitedStates. These data are from a nationally representative sample of children between the ages of birth

and five years surveyed in 2003 as part of the National Survey of Children’s Health. A detailed descrip-tion of the design and implementation of the survey is available in the Appendix. Highlights of the sur-vey’s findings are:

■ Children of Black (non-Hispanic) or Hispanic race/ethnicity are less likely to be read to every day bytheir parents or another family member than White (non-Hispanic) children.

■ Hispanic children are most likely to be reported as never read to (15%) compared with 7% for Blackchildren and 5% for White (non-Hispanic) children.

■ Children under age one year are less likely to be read to every day than older children. Twenty threepercent (23%) of children under age one were reported as never being read to.

■ A small but significant number of children ages 4 and 5 years (4%) are never read to.■ Frequency of reading varies by family’s educational level, with 55% of children being read to every day

when the highest educational level in the household is greater than high school, compared with 39%for families with a high school diploma and 31% with less than a high school education.

■ In households where the highest educational level is greater than a high school diploma only five per-cent (5%) of children were reported as never read to, compared with 10% of children from familieswith a high school diploma only and 16% of those from families with less than a high school educa-tion.

■ Children living in households where the primary language was not English are less likely to be read toevery day (30%) compared with children in families where English was the primary language in thehome (51%).

■ Six percent (6%) of children in households where English is the primary language in the home werereported as never read to, compared to 17% of children from families whose primary language was notEnglish.

■ Daily reading varied by family income, with a gradient showing progressively higher rates of daily read-ing as family income rose.

■ While 59% of children from families with incomes of 400% FPL or greater were read to every day, only36% children from families with incomes less than 100% FPL were reported to be read to daily.

■ Twelve percent (12%) of children from families with incomes less than 100% FPL were reported asnever read to, compared with only 4% from families with incomes 400% FPL or greater.

T



EXHIBIT 1: Frequency of Reading to Children Age 0-5 by Race/Ethnicity, United States, 2003

14

38%

35%

19%

7%

55%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

05%

9%

31%

52%

29%

12%

8%

46%

30%

13%

10%

33%

31%

21%

15%

White(non-Hispanic)

Black(non-Hispanic)

Hispanic Multiracial Other

Pe

rce

nt

of

Ch

ild

ren

(%

)

Race/Ethnicity

■

■

■

Every day

3-6 Days a Week

1-2 Days a Week

Zero Days



EXHIBIT 2: Frequency of Reading to Children Age 0-5 by Family EducationLevel, United States, 2003

15

Highest Educational Level of Anyone in the Household

31%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

16%

22%

31%

54%

31%

11%

5%

39%

34%

17%

10%

Less ThanHigh School

High SchoolDiploma

More ThanHigh School

Pe

rce

nt

of

Ch

ild

ren

(%

)

Every day

3-6 Days a Week

1-2 Days a Week

Zero Days

■

■

■



EXHIBIT 3: Frequency of Reading to Children Age 0-5 by Primary LanguageSpoken at Home, United States, 2003

16

51%

32%

11%

6%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

30%

30%

23%

17%

English Not English

Pe

rce

nt

of

Ch

ild

ren

(%

)

Language

■

■

■

Every day

3-6 Days a Week

1-2 Days a Week

Zero Days



EXHIBIT 4: Frequency of Reading to Children Age 0-5 by Family Income, United States, 2003

17

Less Than100% FPL

100-199%FPL

200-299%FPL

300-399%FPL

400% orMore FPL

In 2003, the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) was $18,400 for a family of four.

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Pe

rce

nt

of

Ch

ild

ren

(%

)

Every day

3-6 Days a Week

1-2 Days a Week

Zero Days

■

■

■

44%

33%

15%

8%

36%

12%

20%

32%

53%

32%

11%

5%

59%

29%

8%

4%

48%

35%

11%

6%



18


19

READING STATE BY STATE

he following charts provide a “snapshot” of patterns of reading to young children, early childhoodliteracy resources and school performance data for each state in the nation. Data on parental read-

ing for children between birth and five years, and on grade repetition for children between the ages of 6and 17 years are drawn from the National Survey of Children's Health (2003). Data on Early Literacyresources are derived from Reach Out and Read National Center data (2005) and the US census data(2000). Data on number of libraries per state are from the United States Department of Education. Dataon School Performance, fourth grade reading proficiency levels are from the National Assessment ofEducational Progress (NAEP) (2005)

Highlights of state findings include:

■ Reading patterns vary significantly by state ranging from 67.6% of young children read to daily inVermont compared with just 38.1% in Mississippi.

■ The top 5 states for rates of daily reading to young children (Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire,Connecticut and Massachusetts are all in the Northeast. The bottom 4 states (Alabama, Texas,Louisiana and Mississippi) are all in the South.

■ Similar geographic patterns are observed for 4th grade reading proficiencies with Massachusetts, NewHampshire and Connecticut at the top, and Louisiana and Mississippi ranking 49th and 50th.

■ The proportion of children served by ROR varies from almost 80% in South Dakota, where the pro-gram receives full state funding support, to less than 1% in Wyoming.

Sources of data and short narrative descriptions for each state are provided in the Appendix. Where indi-vidual cells in the state table contain a “/” this indicates that there were insufficient subjects in the studysample to provide a valid estimate for that measure. We hope these data will prove to be of assistance topolicymakers, planners and providers in each state who are involved in the fields of early language andliteracy development.

T



TABLE 1: Ranking of Daily Reading Among States

VermontMaineNew HampshireConnecticutMassachusettsMinnesotaPennsylvaniaColoradoOregonHawaiiWest VirginiaWashingtonRhode IslandWyomingDelawareIowaKentuckyVirginiaMichiganMarylandOhioMontanaKansasAlaskaNorth CarolinaNebraskaIdaho

67.663.960.758.057.857.156.756.255.954.954.454.053.553.052.852.552.051.251.151.151.050.950.649.849.749.449.1

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627

STATE READ TO DAILY (%) RANK



21

New YorkIndianaNorth DakotaSouth CarolinaIllinoisMissouriDistrict of ColumbiaNew JerseyUtahSouth DakotaWisconsinOklahomaGeorgiaTennesseeCaliforniaArkansasArizonaNew MexicoFloridaNevadaAlabamaTexasLouisianaMississippi

United States

48.448.247.347.247.147.147.146.846.646.646.145.945.845.444.644.043.242.942.942.642.641.741.238.1

47.8

282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051

/

STATE READ TO DAILY (%) RANK



ALABAMA

22

48

205045

4945

5035

263525*

45

48*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

42.6

45.438.751.5

47.333.230.8

//

40.646.2

10.315.8

1,239

22

16.7

ALABAMA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Alabama

(N~350,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Alabama (N~350,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL














Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook | October 2007 www.reachoutandread.org | www.healthychild.ucla.edu


ALASKA

23



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Alaska(N~350,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Alaska (N~350,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

24

113411

1920

3011

2423

9*

38

25*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

49.8

50.548.862.9

56.441.6

//

40.9

48.152.8

11.024.1532

26

9.6

ALASKA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL














October 2007 | Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbookwww.reachoutandread.org | www.healthychild.ucla.edu


ARIZONA

24

44

50439

2147

5131

101350*

43

21*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

43.2

32.445.163.2

55.031.4

/26.0

/

40.648.1

18.733.6

2,398

24

9.7

ARIZONA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Arizona

(N~450,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Arizona (N~450,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final 11/16/07 9:39 AM Page 25

ARKANSAS

25



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Arkansas(N~210,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Arkansas (N~210,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

43

215047

4151

3149

424417*

35

42*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

44.0

44.838.450.5

50.828.8

///

48.037.0

6.19.3

1,017

29

16.0

ARKANSAS STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















CALIFORNIA

26

42

482527

1431

4338

121951*

45

26*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

44.6

33.651.558.0

58.837.9

/38.137.1

44.145.4

15.728.0

2,688

22

10.1

CALIFORNIA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in California

(N~2.9 million)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in California (N~2.9 million)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















COLORADO

27



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Colorado(N~350,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Colorado (N~350,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

8

154

15

516

79

131135*

8

14*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

56.2

47.063.562.0

63.443.2

/33.659.7

56.156.4

15.537.71,449

36

7.6

COLORADO STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















CONNECTICUT

28

4

105

10

314

318

211019*

2

27*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

58.0

51.161.163.2

65.044.4

/35.359.4

62.850.4

11.941.01,086

39

10.4

CONNECTICUT STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Connecticut

(N~260,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Connecticut (N~260,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















DELAWARE

29



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Delaware(N~60,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Delaware (N~60,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

15

31197

828

1520

505043*

12

40*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

52.8

42.452.966.6

61.538.639.730.9

/

54.150.2

1.02.5

1,827

35

14.9

DELAWARE STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

30

34

384113

122

3625

22

34*

51

49*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

47.1

39.745.662.4

78.640.638.536.368.3

46.049.5

60.195.4

1,414

11

18.9

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in District of

Columbia (N~38,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in District of Columbia

(N~38,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















FLORIDA

31



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Florida (N~1.1 million)

Income Distribution among Children Age 0-5 in Florida (N~1.1 million)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

46

463546

2850

4641

161747*

28

45*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

42.9

34.148.151.0

53.930.4

/29.1

/

42.743.1

14.929.22,238

30

16.5

FLORIDA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















GEORGIA

32

40

3746

6

1644

4036

363144*

38

30*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

45.8

40.343.368.0

58.333.736.0

//

45.646.1

8.518.0

1,896

26

11.2

GEORGIA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Georgia

(N~700,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Georgia (N~700,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















HAWAII

33



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Hawaii (N~91,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Hawaii (N~91,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

10

1693

123

205

111242*

44

10*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

54.9

46.656.471.5

60.353.8

/44.356.9

52.659.2

15.834.41,790

23

7.3

HAWAII STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















IDAHO

34

27

192937

4026

1843

434313*

19

7*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

49.1

46.050.555.0

51.339.1

/30.4

/

53.441.1

6.010.2802

33

6.9

IDAHO STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Idaho

(N~110,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Idaho (N~110,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















ILLINOIS

35



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Illinois (N~1.0 million)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Illinois (N~1.0 million)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

32

284432

3330

2148

222029*

28

9*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

47.1

43.045.056.1

53.338.1

/34.149.9

52.337.7

11.426.71,315

30

7.2

ILLINOIS STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















INDIANA

36

29

233120

3940

2737

77

22*

28

22*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

48.2

43.849.160.3

52.035.1

/49.7

/

49.546.0

24.753.3

1,141

30

9.3

INDIANA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Indiana

(N~500,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Indiana (N~1.0 million)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















IOWA

37



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Iowa (N~220,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Iowa (N~220,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

16

92742

2616

1719

17164*

19

3*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

52.5

51.350.953.1

54.343.2

///

53.850.2

14.031.6395

33

4.7

IOWA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















KANSAS

38

23

261841

2224

1046

232410*

19

6*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

50.6

43.453.753.2

55.040.1

//

62.2

55.940.7

11.023.2596

33

6.3

KANSAS STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Kansas

(N~220,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Kansas (N~220,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















KENTUCKY

39



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Kentucky(N~310,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Kentucky (N~310,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

17

141035

2935

1629

454539*

28

41*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

52.0

47.656.355.3

53.837.3

///

53.948.5

5.99.1

1,656

30

15.1

KENTUCKY STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















LOUISIANA

40

50

453748

5041

4945

313721*

49

50*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

41.2

35.447.649.8

46.134.934.3

//

41.340.9

9.315.4

1,121

20

22.6

LOUISIANA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Louisiana

(N~380,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Louisiana (N~380,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















MAINE

41



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Maine (N~84,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Maine (N~84,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

2

222

42

23

46462*

8

29*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

63.9

61.264.271.7

64.460.2

///

66.060.5

2.97.3

305

36

10.8

MAINE STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















MARYLAND

42

20

391436

276

2413

291849*

25

23*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

51.1

39.555.055.3

54.147.746.8

/63.5

50.452.6

9.828.72,342

32

9.3

MARYLAND STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Maryland

(N~420,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Maryland (N~420,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















MASSACHUSETTS

43



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Massachusetts(N~470,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Massachusetts N~470,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

5

2412

5

611

414

53

15*

1

34*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

57.8

43.755.570.1

63.145.3

/35.8

/

60.452.3

29.391.9972

44

11.5

MASSACHUSETTS STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















MICHIGAN

44

19

341624

318

336

344023*

27

31*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

51.1

41.854.359.0

53.546.3

//

72.0

46.859.0

8.514.4

1,213

31

11.3

MICHIGAN STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Michigan

(N~800,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Michigan (N~800,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















MINNESOTA

45



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Minnesota(N~390,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Minnesota (N~390,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

6

1388

137

94

402820*

4

2*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

57.1

48.057.465.4

59.447.3

///

56.059.3

6.619.8 1,101

38

4.2

MINNESOTA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















MISSISSIPPI

46

51

424950

5146

4851

474716*

50

51*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

38.1

36.839.346.6

44.032.533.2

//

41.831.7

2.74.6

1,007

18

24.6

MISSISSIPPI STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Mississippi

(N~240,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in mississippi (N~240,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















MISSOURI

47



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Missouri(N~440,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Missouri (N~440,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

33

262331

4621

3921

353424*

25

13*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

47.1

40.351.956.4

48.941.6

///

45.749.9

8.516.71,215

32

7.6

MISSOURI STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















MONTANA

48

22

127

51

3225

2326

192711*

8

19*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

50.9

48.258.246.1

53.539.5

//

35.4

51.849.2

13.719.9600

36

8.6

MONTANA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Montana

(N~65,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Montana (N~65,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 1

NEBRASKA

49



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Nebraska(N~140,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Nebraska (N~140,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

26

441121

3627

2528

32256*

19

5*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

49.4

36.055.560.1

52.738.9

///

49.748.8

9.121.5474

33

5.9

NEBRASKA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















NEVADA

50

47

434240

3448

3750

413645*

47

17*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

42.6

36.145.453.8

53.231.2

/25.546.3

46.036.9

6.615.5

2,040

21

8.4

NEVADA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Nevada

(N~170,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Nevada (N~170,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















NEW HAMPSHIRE

51



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in New Hampshire(N~90,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in New Hampshire (N~90,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

3

33

26

74

52

28153*

2

24*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

60.7

57.363.858.9

61.749.3

///

60.461.1

9.933.5378

39

9.4

NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















NEW JERSEY

52

35

514012

2539

4115

372136*

4

16*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

46.8

28.845.962.8

54.436.843.722.860.0

44.651.2

7.325.6

1,469

38

8.3

NEW JERSEY STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in New Jersey

(N~670,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in New Jersey (N~670,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















NEW MEXICO

53



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in New Mexico(N~150,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in New Mexico (N~150,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

45

354729

2038

4740

182928*

47

28*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

42.9

41.042.657.1

55.036.8

/38.1

/

42.643.6

13.919.61,282

21

10.5

NEW MEXICO STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















NEW YORK

54

28

323225

1732

3217

89

31*

17

36*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

48.4

42.348.958.9

58.137.837.833.9

/

46.950.9

19.541.0

1,349

34

12.3

NEW YORK STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in New York

(N~1.5 million)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in New York (N~1.5 million)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















NORTH CAROLINA

55



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in North Carolina(N~640,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in North Carolina (N~640,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

25

223618

3018

2816

202240*

28

46*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

49.7

44.648.060.5

53.643.146.8

//

49.151.1

12.224.71,670

30

16.6

NORTH CAROLINA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL
















NORTH DAKOTA

56

30

252849

4533

3822

15428*

12

12*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

47.3

43.650.649.5

49.037.6

///

45.849.8

14.910.7517

35

7.5

NORTH DAKOTA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in North Dakota

(N~47,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in North Dakota

(N~50,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL
















OHIO

57



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Ohio (N~890,000)

Income Distribution among Children Age 0-5 in Ohio (N~890,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

21

182038

389

1239

141427*

12

38*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

51.0

46.352.854.6

52.546.045.3

/58.5

54.844.6

15.033.61,246

35

13.5

OHIO STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 10

OKLAHOMA

58

39

303333

4334

4227

484930*

38

44*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

45.9

42.448.855.9

50.237.4

//

41.9

44.648.8

2.43.9

1,345

26

16.2

OKLAHOMA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Oklahoma

(N~280,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Oklahoma (N~280,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 11

OREGON

59



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Oregon (N~260,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Oregon (N~260,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

9

813

4

919

317

252626*

28

11*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

55.9

51.555.370.7

60.842.8

/32.959.5

54.658.5

10.420.61,243

30

7.4

OREGON STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 12

PENNSYLVANIA

60

7

46

22

1013

88

383232*

8

35*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

56.7

55.358.659.3

60.644.9

//

65.2

56.157.9

7.317.51,377

36

11.7

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Pennsylvania

(N~870,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Pennsylvania (N~870,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 13

RHODE ISLAND

61



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Rhode Island (N~76,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Rhode Island (N~76,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

13

4022

1

1141

1910

44

18*

28

32*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

53.5

38.652.371.9

60.534.9

/26.4

/

53.453.7

37.688.21,053

30

11.4

RHODE ISLAND STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 14

SOUTH CAROLINA

62

31

331534

3529

3430

66

41*

38

43*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

47.2

42.054.455.7

53.238.239.5

//

46.748.3

29.059.9

1,706

26

16.1

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in South Carolina

(N~310,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in South Carolina

(N~310,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 15

SOUTH DAKOTA

63



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in South Dakota (N~60,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in South Dakota (N~60,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

37

293914

4815

2942

115*

19

20*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

46.6

42.646.362.1

47.643.3

//

45.9

48.343.1

79.6100.0420

33

8.6

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 16

TENNESSEE

64

41

274539

4437

4434

494837*

37

39*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

45.4

43.044.854.4

49.437.0

///

43.747.7

2.24.4

1,548

27

14.8

TENNESSEE STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Tennessee

(N~440,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Tennessee (N~440,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 17

TEXAS

65



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Texas (N~1.9 million)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Texas (N~1.9 million)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

49

474823

3743

4547

333948*

35

33*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

41.7

33.742.259.2

52.734.4

/29.7

/

43.438.7

9.015.12,255

29

11.4

TEXAS STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 18

UTAH

66

36

173828

4736

3533

303046*

12

1*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

46.6

46.346.657.7

48.237.2

///

46.048.0

9.718.5

2,177

35

2.5

UTAH STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Utah

(N~250,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Utah (N~250,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 19

VERMONT

67



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Vermont (N~41,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Vermont (N~41,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

1

11

17

21

11

351*

4

15*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

67.6

67.669.661.4

66.680.5

///

70.162.5

40.178.1214

38

7.7

VERMONT STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 20

VIRGINIA

68

18

412119

1823

2223

98

38*

7

37*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

51.2

38.452.460.5

57.340.134.333.759.7

52.049.8

19.245.91,606

37

13.1

VIRGINIA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Virginia

(N~550,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Virginia (N~550,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 21

WASHINGTON

69



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Washington(N~470,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Washington (N~470,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

12

63016

1512

632

394133*

12

8*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

54.0

53.049.561.7

58.744.9

/35.554.0

57.148.0

6.913.51,409

35

6.9

WASHINGTON STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 22

WEST VIRGINIA

70

11

51744

235

1112

273312*

38

47*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

54.4

54.854.052.1

54.647.9

///

55.452.6

10.316.7696

26

16.7

WEST VIRGINIA STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in West Virginia

(N~120,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in West Virginia

(N~120,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 23

WISCONSIN

71



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Wisconsin(N~410,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Wisconsin (N~410,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL

38

492643

4149

2644

443814*

19

4*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.01,368

30

11.3

46.1

33.351.152.2

50.830.5

///

49.541.0

6.015.2893

33

5.7

WISCONSIN STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 24

WYOMING

72

14

72430

2410

1424

51517*

17

18*

47.8

40.350.158.9

55.037.838.133.446.4

48.347.0

12.826.0

1,368

30

11.3

53.0

51.751.856.7

54.545.8

/42.8

/

54.649.7

0.61.0

493

34

8.5

WYOMING STATE STATE RANKING

NATIONAL



Hispanic

Other/Multiple

Racial/Ethnic Distribution amongChildren Age 0-5 in Wyoming

(N~410,000)

Income Distribution among ChildrenAge 0-5 in Wyoming (N~36,000)

400%FPL and above

<200% FPL

200-399% FPL















ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 25


ror.final.2 10/29/07 5:20 PM Page 26

74


STATE BY STATE NARRATIVES

he following summaries provide an overview of reading resources and reading performance for eachstate. All reading, race/ethnicity, and income data were calculated using the National Survey of

Children’s Health (2003). References for Reach Out and Read (ROR) and School Performance data areprovided at the end of this chartbook. For the purposes of this analysis children living in or near pover-ty or low-income are defined as living under 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

ALABAMAIn Alabama, only 42.6% of young children are reported to be read to every day, ranking 48th of 51 amongthe states and District of Columbia. Nearly half (48.6%) of children under age five are living in or nearpoverty. Only 22% of children in fourth grade are reading at a level proficient or above in reading, rank-ing 45th in the nation. A high proportion of children ages 6-17 years, 16.7%, have repeated at least onegrade in school. Currently, ROR serves 15.8% children in or near poverty in Alabama and 10.3% of allchildren in the state.

ALASKA**In Alaska, almost half (49.8%) of all children age 0-5 are reported to be read to every day, slightly morethan the national average of 47.8%, ranking 24th of 51 among the states and District of Columbia. ByGrade 4, only 26% of Alaskan children are reading proficiently or better, compared with a national aver-age of 30% giving a state ranking of 38th. Although only 11% all children in the state are currentlyserved by ROR, ROR serves 24.1% of Alaskan children from birth to age 5 who are living in or nearpoverty.

ARIZONAArizona has a high proportion of children aged five years and under living at or near the federal pover-ty level, ranking 40th of 51. Forty-three percent (43.2%) of parents of children under age five reportreading to their children every day, ranking 44th of 51. ROR currently serves 33.6% of children livingin or near poverty in Arizona, and 18.7% of all children under age five. Only 24% of fourth grade stu-dents are proficient or above in reading, ranking 43rd of 51. Among Arizona families living at less than200% FPL, only 32% of children are read to every day ranking 50th of 51 compared with 63% of fami-lies with income at 400% FPL or greater who ranked 9th of 51. The number of young children per pub-lic library is high, ranking 50th of 51.


T


ARKANSAS**In Arkansas, 44% of children are read to every day, ranking 43rd of 51. Patterns of reading differ by race/ethnicity with 50.8% White (non-Hispanic) children reported as read to daily compared with 28.8% ofnon-White children. The daily reading rates for non-White children in Arkansas were the lowest in thenation. ROR has a relatively low penetrance in Arkansas, serving 6.1% all children under the age of 5years across the state, and 9.3% children who are in or near poverty, ranking 44th of 51. Only 29% offourth graders are proficient or above in reading.

CALIFORNIACalifornia, the most populous state, has the highest number of children under the age of five years, near-ly 3 million. A high proportion, 48.6%, live in or near poverty, while 70.9% belong to a racial/ethnicminority. Statewide, 44.6% of parents report reading to their child every day, ranking 42nd of 51.Reading rate varies by race/ethnicity with 58.5% of White (non-Hispanic) parents reporting daily read-ing compared with 37.9% all other racial/ethnic groups. Among children living in or near poverty (under200% FPL), about one third (33.6%) of children age 0-5 are read to daily, ranking 48th of 51. Amongchildren in families with middle incomes and above California fares better than other states, with 51.5%of children living at 200-399% FPL and 58% of children with family incomes of 400% FPL or greaterbeing read to daily, ranking 25th and 27th of 51. California’s resources to promote early literacy are chal-lenged to meet the needs of the state’s very large early childhood population. California has the lowestnumber of public libraries per child under age five years in the nation. Reach Out and Read currentlyserves 15.7% of California’s early childhood population, and 28% of young children who live at or nearpoverty. In California, only 22% of fourth-graders are proficient or above on national reading tests, rank-ing 45th of all the states.

COLORADOIn Colorado, 56.2% of children age five and under are reported to be read to daily which is above thenational average and ranks 8th of 51. Colorado achieves an equivalent ranking, 8th of 51, for proficientor above reading among fourth grade students (36%). Colorado ranks 14th for children who have repeat-ed a grade in school (7.6%). ROR currently serves 15.5% all Colorado children aged five years andunder, and 37.7% Colorado children who live in or near poverty, with state rankings of 13th and 11threspectively for ROR penetrance.



CONNECTICUTIn Connecticut, 58% of children are reported to be read to daily, which is higher than the national aver-age and ranks 4th. Connecticut children have one of the lowest poverty rates in the nation. Connecticutalso ranks second in the nation for percentage of fourth graders who are at or above reading proficiencyon national testing, yet only 39% fourth graders achieve this standard. ROR serves 11.9% ofConnecticut children under age five, and 41% of children in or near poverty, ranking 19th and 8th ofall states respectively for ROR penetrance. The number of young children per public library resource isbelow the national average with a ranking of 19th.

DELAWARE**In Delaware, 52.8% of children are reported by parents as being read to every day, with a ranking of 15.Thirty-five percent (35%) of Delaware fourth grade students are proficient or above on national readingtests, ranking 12th of all states. Among students between the ages of 6 and 17 years, 14.9% have repeat-ed at least one grade, which is above the national average with a state ranking of 40. ROR penetrancein Delaware is low, serving only one percent (1%) of all children ages 5 and under and 2.5% of those liv-ing in or near poverty, rankings of 50th of 51. Delaware also has a relatively high number of children perpublic library resource, with a ranking of 43.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIAIn D.C., 47.1% of children age five and under are reported to be read to daily, with a state ranking of34th of 51. A relatively large difference in reading rates is observed by race/ethnicity, with 78.6% ofWhite (non-Hispanic) children read to daily, the highest rate in the nation for White (non-Hispanic)children, while only 40.6% children from all other races and ethnicities are reported to be read to daily.D.C has the highest proportion of Black (non-Hispanic) children under age 5 (62.9%) in the nation.D.C. also has a high proportion of young children living in or near poverty. On national testing, only11% of D.C. fourth grade students demonstrated reading proficiency or higher, ranking lowest in thenation. A relatively high percentage of students (18.9%) between the ages of 6 and 17 years have repeat-ed at least one grade, ranking 49th of 51. ROR is achieving a relatively high penetrance in D.C. with60.1% of all children age 5 years and under, and 95.4% of children living in or near poverty currentlyserved by ROR, ranking 2nd in the nation for ROR penetrance.



FLORIDAIn Florida, 43% of children age five and under are reported to be read to every day, which is below thenational average with a state ranking of 46th of 51. Florida has a relatively high proportion of non-Whitechildren, 30.4% of whom are read to daily, ranking 50th of 51. In Florida, 30% of fourth graders are pro-ficient or above on national reading tests, ranking 28th of 51. However, 16.5% of students age 6-17 yearshave repeated at least one grade, ranking 45th of 51. ROR serves 14.9% of all young children in Florida,and 29.2% of young children living in or near poverty with state rankings of 16 & 17 for these measures.

GEORGIAIn Georgia, 45.8% of children age five and under are reported to be read to every day, just under thenational average and with a ranking of 40th of 51. There are marked differences in reading rates bypoverty level, with 40.3% of children living below 200% FPL read to daily (state ranking 37th) com-pared with 68% of children with family incomes of 400%FPL or greater (state ranking 6th). Differencesare also noted by race/ethnicity, with 58.3% of White (non-Hispanic) children reported as read to daily(state ranking16th) compared with 34% other races/ethnicities (state ranking 44th). In Georgia, only26% of fourth graders are proficient or above on national tests of reading, ranking 38th of 51. Childrenin Georgia are poorly served for public libraries, ranking 44th of 51 for number of young children perpublic library. ROR serves 8.5% of children age 0-5 years in Georgia and 18% of young children livingin or near poverty.

HAWAIIIn Hawaii, 54.9% of young children are reported to be read to daily, ranking 10th. The race/ethnicity ofHawaii’s young childhood population is predominantly Pacific Islander. Reading rates vary by povertylevel, with 46.6% of children in or near poverty read to daily (ranking 16th) vs. 71.5% of children fromfamilies with incomes 400% FPL or greater (ranking 3rd). Only 23% of Hawaiian children are readingproficiently or higher on fourth grade testing, with a state ranking of 44th. There is relatively moderatepenetrance of ROR in Hawaii, with 15.8% of all young children, and 34.4% of young children living inor near poverty currently served by ROR (ranking 11th and 12th respectively). Hawaii has a higher num-ber of young children served per public library than the national average, ranking 42nd of 51 states andterritories for this measure.



IDAHOIn Idaho, 49.1% of children under the age of five years are reported to be read to daily, close to thenational average and ranking 27th in the nation. Idaho has a predominantly White (non-Hispanic) earlychildhood population (81% in NSCH sample). Idaho has 48% of young children living at or near pover-ty. Daily reading varies by race/ethnicity with 51.3% of young White (non-Hispanic) children read todaily (less than the national average for White children) compared with almost 40% children of otherraces/ethnicities. ROR serves 6% of young children in Idaho and only 10.2% of young children living inor near poverty, ranking 43rd in the nation for each of these measures. In Idaho, 33% of fourth grade stu-dents are proficient or above in reading, which is above the national average of 30% and ranks 19th inthe nation.

ILLINOISIn Illinois, 47.1% of young children are reported to be read to daily, close to the national average of47.8% and ranking 32nd of 51. Illinois has a sizeable Hispanic population including 23% of children age5 and under. Illinois ranks 28th in the nation for the proportion of fourth-graders who are proficient orabove for reading skills, which is at the national average of 30%. Illinois is also close to the national aver-age for number of young children served per public library (ranking 29th), and for number of young chil-dren served by ROR (11.4%, ranking 22rd). ROR currently reaches 20.2% Illinois children age 5 andunder living in or near poverty, ranking 18th of 51 states and territories.

INDIANAIn Indiana, 48.2% of children age 5 years and under are reported to be read to every day, close to thenational average and ranking 29th of 51. The majority of children in Indiana are White (non-Hispanic)(79%), 9.3% are Black (non-Hispanic) and 6.9% are Hispanic. Reading rates vary by family incomewith 43.8% of children living in or near poverty read to daily compared with 60.3% of children livingat 400% FPL or greater. In Indiana, 30% of fourth grade students have reading skills that are proficientor greater, identical to the national average, ranking 28th. ROR currently serves 24.7% of young chil-dren in Indiana, and 53.3% of young children who are in or near poverty, ranking 7th in the nation forthis measure.



IOWA**In Iowa, 52.5% of children age 5 and under are reported to be read to daily, above the national averageand ranking 16th in the nation. Young children in Iowa are predominantly White (non-Hispanic)(86.9%), with 8.3% Hispanic and one percent (1%) Black (non-Hispanic). More than one-third (38%)have family incomes of less than 200% FPL, but only 13% have incomes below the FPL. In Iowa, therewas little variation in reading patterns by poverty level, with 51.3% of young children with familyincomes less than 200% FPL read to daily compared with 53.1% of children with family income of 400%FPL or greater. Reading rates varied by race/ethnicity with 54.3% of White (non-Hispanic) children readto daily compared with 43.2% children of other races/ethnicities. In Iowa, 33% of fourth graders havereading skills classed as proficient or above, ranking 19th in the nation. A low proportion of school-agechildren in Iowa have repeated at least one grade (4.7%), ranking 3rd in the nation. Young children inIowa are relatively well served for public libraries, ranking 4th in the nation. ROR currently reaches only14% young children in Iowa, and 31.6% those living in or near poverty, ranking 17th and 16th respec-tively in the nation for these measures.

KANSAS**Half of all young children in Kansas are reported to be read to daily (50.6%), above the national aver-age and ranking 23rd in the nation. In Kansas, 71.6% of young children are White (non-Hispanic), 8.2%are Black and 13% are Hispanic, and 45.7% are living in or near poverty. Reading varies by race/ethnic-ity, with 55% of White (non-Hispanic) children read to daily compared with 40.1% of non-White chil-dren. Reading also varies by income with 43.4% of children living in or near poverty read to daily com-pared with 53.7% at 400% FPL or greater. Among fourth graders, 33% have reading skills that are pro-ficient or above, ranking 19th in the nation, while a relatively low 6.3% of school age children haverepeated at least one grade. Children in Kansas are relatively well-served for public libraries, raking 10thin the nation for number of young children served per library. ROR reaches 11% of all young childrenin Kansas, and 23.2% of young children living in or near poverty, ranking 23rd and 34th respectively.

KENTUCKYIn Kentucky, 52% of all children age 5 and under are reported to be read to daily, above the national aver-age and ranking 17th. Young children in Kentucky are predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (85.8%),with six percent (6.4%) Black (non-Hispanic) and five percent (4.8%) Hispanic. Daily reading varies byincome level, with 47.6% of young children with families incomes less than 200% FPL read to daily com-



pared with 55.3% those with family incomes of 400% FPL or greater. While 53.8% of White (non-Hispanic) children are read to daily, only 37.3% non-White children are read to daily. Among fourthgraders, 30% are proficient or above at reading on national testing, ranking 28th. A relatively high 15.1%of school-age children have repeated at least one grade, above the national average ranking 41st in thenation. Kentucky has a greater number of young children per public library than the national average,ranking 39th in the nation for this measure. Reach Out and Read serves only 5.9% of all young childrenin Kentucky, and 9.1% of those living in or near poverty, ranking 45th in the nation for these measures.

LOUISIANARates of reading to young children in Louisiana are among the lowest in the nation. Only 41.2% of chil-dren are reported to be read to daily, below the national average and with a state ranking of 50 out of 51.In Louisiana, 52.3% of young children are White (non-Hispanic), 41.4% are Black (non-Hispanic) and4.2% are Hispanic. Louisiana has the highest proportion of children living below the federal povertylevel (34.8%) of any state in the nation. Reading rates vary by race/ethnicity with 46.1% of White (non-Hispanic) children read to daily, compared with 34.9% of all non-White children. Rates also vary bypoverty level, with 35.4% of young children with family incomes less than 200% FPL read to daily com-pared with 49.8% with incomes at 400% FPL or above. Only 20% of Louisiana fourth graders are at orabove proficient in reading skills, ranking 49th of 51, while 22.6% of school-age children have repeatedat least one grade, ranking 50th in the nation for this measure. In Louisiana, only 9.3% of all childrenaged 5 and under and 15.4% of young children living in or near poverty are served by ROR, ranking 31stand 37th respectively for ROR penetrance.

MAINEMaine has the second highest reported rate of daily reading to young children in the nation with 63.9%read to daily. Maine also has the highest proportion of young children who are White (non-Hispanic) inthe nation (94.7%), with 0.2% Black (non-Hispanic) and 1.3% Hispanic. In Maine, although there issome variation in reading level by family income, rates are high across all income levels. For young chil-dren in families at or near poverty, 61.2% are reported to be read to daily compared with 71.7% childrenwith family incomes at 400% FPL or greater. While numbers of non-White children in Maine in theNSCH sample were small, they reported relatively high reading rates of 60.2% read to daily comparedwith 64.4 young White (non-Hispanic) children. Maine ranks 8th in the nation for fourth grade read-ing skills, yet still only 36% children are classed as proficient or above in reading. Children in Maine are



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relatively well-served for public libraries, ranking 2nd in the nation for number of young children perlibrary facility. ROR currently serves only 2.9% of all young children in Maine and 7.3% of those in ornear poverty.

MARYLANDIn Maryland, 51.1% of children age 5 and under are reported to be read to daily, ranking 20th of 51.Over half (56.7%) of young children are White (non-Hispanic), 28.2% are Black (non-Hispanic) and6.8% are Hispanic. In the NSCH sample, Maryland has one of the lowest proportions of children livingbelow the federal poverty level (9.5%) in the nation, and one of the highest proportions of young chil-dren living in families with incomes at 400% FPL or greater (40.2%), ranking 4th of 51 for each of theseparameters. Reading rates in Maryland vary by poverty level such that 39.5% of children with familyincomes less than 200% FPL are read to daily compared with 55.3% those with family income greaterthan 400% FPL. Among young children in Maryland, 54.1% of White (non-Hispanic) children are readto daily, compared with 47.7% of non-White children. National reading tests show that 32% ofMaryland fourth graders are proficient or above in reading, ranking 25th in the nation. Maryland ispoorly served for public libraries, having a large number of young children per library facility and rank-ing 49th of 51 for this measure. Reach Out and Read has moderate penetrance in Maryland, serving9.8% all children age 5 and under, and 28.7% those living in or near poverty, ranking 29th and 18threspectively.

MASSACHUSETTSIn Massachusetts, 57.8% of children age 5 and under are reported to be read to daily, above the nation-al average of 48% and ranking 5th of 51. The racial/ethnic distribution among the early childhood pop-ulation of Massachusetts is 73.9% White (non-Hispanic), 6.3% Black (non-Hispanic) and 10.5%Hispanic. Massachusetts is a relatively affluent state with only 11.2% of young children living in fami-lies below the FPL, while 40.8% of children live in families with incomes at 400% FPL or greater. In fact,Massachusetts has the lowest proportion of young children living in or near poverty in the nation(24.1%). Daily reading varies by income, ranging from 43.7% children in families with incomes less than200% FPL to 70.1% for children with family incomes of 400% FPL or greater. Reading levels also varyby race/ethnicity with 63.1% of White (non-Hispanic) children read to daily versus 45.3% of non-Whitechildren read to daily. Reach Out and Read has a strong presence in Massachusetts, where the programwas founded. ROR currently serves 29.3% all children in Massachusetts and reaches 91.9% of children



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in the state who live in or near poverty, ranking 5th and 3rd respectively. Fourth grade reading levels inMassachusetts are the highest in the nation, yet still only 44% children have reading skills classed as pro-ficient or above on national testing.

MICHIGANIn the state of Michigan, 51.1% of young children are reported to be read to every day, above the nation-al average and ranking 19th of 51. Young children in Michigan are predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (71.8%), with 14.4% Black (non-Hispanic), and 6.6% Hispanic. Michigan ranks 36th of 51for the proportion of young children living in or near poverty. Reading rates vary by family income levelwith 41.8% of young children from families with incomes less than 200% FPL read to daily comparedwith 59% of children whose families have incomes of 400% FPL or greater. Among White (non-Hispanic) children, 53.5% are reported to be read to daily compared with 46.3% of non-White children.In Michigan 31% of fourth graders are proficient or above in reading, ranking 27th of 51. ROR current-ly serves only 8.5% of the early childhood population, and 14.4% of young children who are living in ornear poverty, ranking 34th and 40th in the nation for these measures.

MINNESOTAIn Minnesota, 57.1% of children are reported to be read to daily, above the national average and rank-ing 6th of 51 nationally. Minnesota also has a relatively high ranking for school performance with 38%of fourth graders with reading skills proficient or above on national testing, ranking 4th of 51, and witha low 4.2% of school-age children having repeated at least one grade, ranking 2nd of 51 for this meas-ure. The early childhood population of Minnesota is 81.6% White (non-Hispanic), 5.4% Black (non-Hispanic), and 7.3% Hispanic. Minnesota has a relatively low proportion of young children living in ornear poverty, 28.2%. Reading levels in Minnesota vary by race/ethnicity with 59.4% of White (non-Hispanic) children read to daily compared with 47.3% of non-White children. In Minnesota, only 3.3%of young children age five and under are served by ROR, with 9.2% of young children living in or nearpoverty served by the program, ranking 43rd and 38th for these measures respectively.

MISSISSIPPIMississippi has the lowest reported rate of reading to young children in the nation. Only 38.1% of chil-dren ages five and under are reported to be read to daily. Only Louisiana has a greater proportion of chil-dren living in poverty with the poverty rate among children in Mississippi being 32.9%. Mississippi also


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has one of the lowest proportions of young children living in families with incomes of 400% FPL orgreater (13.3%). Mississippi has a very low proportion of school-age children who are proficient or abovefor reading skills on national testing (18%), ranking 50th of 51. Mississippi has the highest proportionof children in the nation who have repeated at least one grade in school (24.6%). Reading rates vary byfamily income in Mississippi, but less so than in many other states, and reading rates are low across allincome levels. For families with income levels of 400% FPL or greater, reading rates rank 50th whencompared with families of the same income level in the other states. Reading rates vary by race/ethnic-ity, with 44% of White (non-Hispanic) children reported to be read to daily compared with 32.5% ofnon-White children; this is consistent with the reading rates being low across all races/ethnicities.Reading rates for young White (non-Hispanic) children in Mississippi are the lowest for White (non-Hispanic) children nationwide. Reach Out and Read has a modest presence in Mississippi, serving only6.6% of the early childhood population, and only 19.8% of young children living at or near poverty,ranking 40th and 28th respectively. Mississippi is relatively well-served for public libraries, ranking 16thof 51 for the number of children age 5 and under per public library facility.

MISSOURI**In Missouri, 47.1% of young children are reported to be read to daily, close to the national average andranking 33rd of 51. The early childhood population of Missouri is mainly White (non-Hispanic)(75.9%), while15.9% of young children are Black (non-Hispanic), and 4.7% are Hispanic. In Missouri,42% of young children live in or near poverty. Reading rates in the state vary by income level with 40.3%of children with family incomes less than 200% FPL read to daily compared with 56.4% of those withfamily incomes of 400% FPL or greater. Daily reading rates also vary by race/ethnicity with 48.9% ofWhite (non-Hispanic) children read to daily compared with 41.6% of non-White children. On fourthgrade reading tests, 32% of Missouri students have reading levels of proficient or above, ranking 25th of51. Public library access is also close to the national average, ranking 24th of 51. Reach Out and Readcurrently serves 8.5% of the early childhood population and 16.7% of those who are live in or nearpoverty.

MONTANAIn Montana, 50.9% of young children are reported to be read to daily, above the national average andranking 22nd of 51. Children age five and under in Montana are predominantly White (non-Hispanic)(80.8%), with 0.2% Black (non-Hispanic), and 4.6% Hispanic. Montana has a relatively high

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proportion of children who live in or near poverty (53.3%). In Montana, reading rates show relativelylittle variation by family income. Although 58.2% of children from families with incomes 200-399% FPLare read to daily compared with only 48.2% of children living in or near poverty (less than 200% FPL),only 46.1% children with family incomes of 400% FPL or greater are read to daily. Montana has a lowproportion of children whose families are in this higher income category – only 12.1%. On fourth gradereading tests, 36% Montana students are proficient or above, ranking 8th in the nation. ROR has a mod-erate presence in Montana serving 13.7% of the early childhood population and 19.9% of children liv-ing in or near poverty, ranking 19th and 27th, respectively.

NEBRASKAIn Nebraska, 49.4% of children age five and under are reported to be read to daily, close to the nationalaverage and ranking 26th of 51. Young children in Nebraska are predominantly White (non-Hispanic)(77.2%), with 5.5% Black (non-Hispanic), and 11.6% Hispanic. Nebraska has a relatively high propor-tion of children in middle income categories, with fewer children either with family incomes below100% FPL (12.1%), or with family incomes 400% or above FPL (19.7%), ranking 16th of 51. Readingrates vary by poverty level with 36% of children with family incomes less than 200% FPL read to dailycompared with 60.1% of children with family incomes of 400% FPL or greater. Daily reading rates alsovary by race/ethnicity with 52.7% of White (non-Hispanic) children read to daily compared with 38.9%of non-White children. In Nebraska, 33% of fourth grade students are proficient or above in reading,close to the national average and ranking 19th of 51. Nebraska’s ratio of young children to publiclibraries is close to the national average. ROR serves 21.5% of low-income children in Nebraska, with arank of 25th of 51.

NEVADANevada has one of the lowest rates of reading to young children in the nation with 42.6% of childrenage five and under reported to be read to daily, ranking 47th of 51 for this parameter. The early child-hood population of Nevada is 50.9% White (non-Hispanic), 7% Black (non-Hispanic), and 33.1%Hispanic. Nevada is in the middle range for proportion of children living in or near poverty (43.6%).Daily reading rates vary by income but are relatively low across all income categories, ranging from36.1% daily reading to children with family incomes less than 200% FPL to 53.8% daily reading for chil-dren with families incomes of 400% FPL or greater. White (non-Hispanic) children have daily readingrates of 53.2%, ranking 34th of 51, while non-White children have daily reading rates of 31.2%, rank-

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ing 48th of 51. Only 21% of fourth-graders are proficient or above in reading, ranking 47th of 51. RORpenetration in Nevada is limited, currently serving 6.6% of all young children, and 15.5% of childrenage five and under who are in or near poverty, ranking 41st and 36th for these measures. Nevada is rel-atively poorly served for public libraries, raking 45th in the nation for number of young children perlibrary facility.

NEW HAMPSHIRE**In New Hampshire, 60.7% of children age five and under are reported to be read to daily, ranking 3rd inthe nation. School performance is also high, with 39% of fourth graders scoring proficient or above inreading, ranking 2nd in the nation. The grade repetition rate is moderate, with 9.4% of school-age chil-dren having repeated at least one grade, ranking 24th in the nation. New Hampshire has one of the low-est rates in the nation of children living below the federal poverty level (9.5%), and 28.2% with familyincomes less than 200% FPL. New Hampshire has a high proportion of children with family income at400%FPL or greater (35.4%). Young children in New Hampshire are predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (91.6%), with 0.3% Black (non-Hispanic), 3.5% Hispanic. There is relatively little variationin reading level by income compared with other states, and although 61.7% of White (non-Hispanic)children are read to daily compared with 49.3% of non-White children, reading rates across all races andethnicities are high, with rates for non-Whites ranking 4th in the nation. Reach Out and Read serves9.9% of all young children and 33.5% of those in or near poverty. New Hampshire is relatively well-served for public libraries, ranking 3rd in the nation for number of young children per library.

NEW JERSEYIn New Jersey, 46.8% of children age five and under are read to daily, close to the national average andranking 35th of 51. Fourth graders perform relatively well on national reading tests with 38% classed asproficient or above, ranking 4th in the nation. The grade repetition rate in New Jersey is 8.3%, ranking16th in the nation. Young children in New Jersey are 55% White (non-Hispanic), 14.4% Black (non-Hispanic), and 22% Hispanic. New Jersey is a relatively affluent state, with only 29.3% of young chil-dren living in or near poverty and 41.7% of young children with family incomes of 400% FPL or greater.In New Jersey, there was a particularly wide variation in reading patterns by family income with only28.8% of children with family incomes less than 200% FPL read to daily, the lowest rate in the nation

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for that income category (ranking 51st), compared with 62.8% of children with family incomes of 400%FPL or greater (ranking 12th). There is moderate penetrance of ROR in New Jersey, serving 7.3% of allyoung children and 25.6% of those in or near poverty.

NEW MEXICO**In New Mexico, 42.9% of children age five and under are reported to be read to daily, below the nation-al average and ranking 45th of 51. The early childhood population of New Mexico has the highest pro-portion of Hispanic children in the nation (55.8%), with 30.9% White (non-Hispanic), and 1.1% Black(non-Hispanic). New Mexico has the highest rate in the nation of children who are in or near poverty(59.6%), and the lowest proportion of children whose families have incomes of 400% FPL or greater(12%) in the nation. Daily reading varies by race/ethnicity and income with 55% of White (non-Hispanic) children versus 36.8% of non-White children read to daily, and 57.1% of children with fami-ly incomes at 400% FPL or greater read to daily versus 41% of children with family incomes in or nearpoverty. On tests of reading ability, 21% of New Mexico fourth graders had reading levels of proficientor above, ranking 47th in the nation. Grade repetition rates are moderate (11%), ranking 28th in thenation. Reach Out and Read has a moderate presence in New Mexico, reaching 13.9% of all childrenage five and under, and 19.6% of those in or near poverty, ranking 18th and 29th in the nation respec-tively for these measures.

NEW YORKIn New York, 48.4% of young children are reported to be read to daily, close to the national average andranking 28th in the nation. The early childhood population of New York is 51.7% White (non-Hispanic), 17.2% Black (non-Hispanic), and 22.6% Hispanic. Nearly 40% children age five and underare in or near poverty (39.6%). Daily reading varies by income level from 42.3% of children living at orbelow 200% FPL to 58.9% of children at 400% FPL or above. Reading also varies by race/ethnicity with58.1% of White (non-Hispanic) children read to daily compared with 37.8% of non-White children.Among fourth graders, 34% are proficient or above in reading, ranking 17th in the nation. New York hasa ratio of young children to public libraries that is close to the national average ranking 36th in thenation. Reach Out and Read serves 19.5% of the early childhood population in the state and 41.0% ofthose in or near poverty, ranking 8th and 9th respectively.

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NORTH CAROLINAIn North Carolina, 49.7% of young children are reported to be read to daily, close to the national aver-age and ranking 25th of 51 in the nation. Fourth grade reading levels in the state are also at the nation-al average with 30% of children proficient or above in reading, ranking 28th in the nation. A relativelyhigh proportion (16.6%) of school-age children have ever repeated a grade, ranking 46th in the nation.Children age five and under in North Carolina are 64.5% White (non-Hispanic), 22.0% Black, and7.9% Hispanic. Nearly half of young children live in or near poverty (46.7%). Reading rates vary byincome from 44.6% of children read to daily who live under 200% FPL to 60.5% of children with fami-ly incomes of 400% FPL or above. Among White (non-Hispanic) children, 53.6% are read to daily com-pared with 43.1% of non-White children. North Carolina is relatively poorly served for public libraries,with the ratio of young children to library facilities above the national average, ranking 40th in thenation. Reach Out and Read serves 12.2% of the early childhood population in the state, and 24.7% ofyoung children in or near poverty.

NORTH DAKOTANorth Dakota ranks 30th in the nation for rates of daily reading to young children, with 47.3% of chil-dren age five and under reported to be read to daily. The early childhood population of North Dakota ispredominantly White (non-Hispanic) (83.1%), with 0.4% Black, and 3.3% Hispanic. For children withfamily incomes less than 200% FPL, 43.6% are read to daily compared with 49.5% of children withincomes of 400% FPL or greater. Among White (non-Hispanic) children, 49% are read to daily com-pared with 37.6% of non-White children. In North Dakota, 35% of fourth graders are proficient or abovein reading, ranking 12th in the nation. ROR serves 14.9% of the early childhood population (ranking15th), and reaches 10.7% of children who are in or near poverty (ranking 42rd).

OHIOIn Ohio, 51% of young children are reported to be read to daily, ranking 21st in the nation. Ohio’s earlychildhood population is predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (76.9%) with a sizeable Black communi-ty (15.0%) and a smaller minority of Hispanic children (3.9%). Reading rates vary by family income,increasing as income increases (46.3% among incomes less than 200% FPL versus 54.6% among incomesof 400% FPL or greater) and are higher in White (non-Hispanic) than non-White children (52.5% vs.46.0%). In Ohio 35% of fourth-graders are proficient readers or better, ranking 12th in the nation, whilea relatively high proportion of school-age children have repeated a grade (13.5%), ranking 38th in the


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nation. Reach Out and Read currently reaches 15.0% of the early childhood population in the state and33.6% of young children living in or near poverty.

OKLAHOMAIn Oklahoma, 45.9% of children age birth to five years are read to daily, just below the national averageand ranking 39th of 51. Oklahoma ranks 38th for the percentage of fourth graders with reading levels ator above proficient (26%). The early childhood population in Oklahoma is predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (63.3%), with 8.8% Black (non-Hispanic), and 8.4% Hispanic. Oklahoma has a relatively lowincome early childhood population with 55.7% living in or near poverty, while only 14.8% of young chil-dren live in families with incomes of 400% FPL or above. A relatively high proportion of school-age students have repeated at least one grade (16.2%), ranking 44th. Reach Out and Read has minimal presence in Oklahoma, reaching 2.4% of the early childhood population and 3.9% of young children living in or near poverty. This represents the third to the lowest penetrance of ROR for the low incomepopulation among all the states.

OREGONIn Oregon, 55.9% of children are reported to be read to daily, above the national average and ranking9th in the nation. Fourth grade reading levels are at the national average, with 30% students classed asproficient or above, ranking 28th. Young children in Oregon are predominantly White (non-Hispanic)(73.2%), with 1.3% Black (non-Hispanic), and 15.8% Hispanic. In Oregon, 40.3% of children age fiveyears and under are living in families with an income below 200% FPL. Reading rates vary by familyincome, with 51.5% of children living below 200% FPL read to daily compared with 70.7% of childrenwith family incomes of 400% FPL or above. Three-fifths (60.8%) of White (non-Hispanic) children areread to daily compared with 42.8% of non-White children. Reach Out and Read currently reaches 10.4%of the early childhood population in Oregon overall and 20.6% of low income children aged five andunder, ranking 25th and 26th in the nation respectively. The number of young children per public libraryis close to the national average, ranking 28th in the nation.

PENNSYLVANIAIn Pennsylvania, 56.7% of children age five and under are read to every day, above the national averageand ranking 7th of 51. On fourth grade national reading tests, 36% of Pennsylvania students are profi-cient or above, ranking 8th in the nation. The early childhood population of Pennsylvania is predomi-


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nantly White (non-Hispanic) (76.2%), with 11.5% Black (non-Hispanic), and 6.4% Hispanic. Readingrates vary by family income, although to a lesser degree than in many other states. Over one-third(38.2%) of young children live in or near poverty in Pennsylvania. Among children with family incomeless than 200% FPL, 55.3% of young children are read to daily compared with 59.3% of children withfamily income at 400%FPL or greater. Reading also varies by race/ethnicity, with 60.6% of White (non-Hispanic) children read to daily compared with 44.9% of non-White children. Considering early child-hood literacy resources, the number of young children per public library facility is just above the nation-al average, ranking 32nd in the nation. ROR currently reaches 7.3% of young children in Pennsylvania,and 17.5% of low income children, ranking 38th and 32nd in the nation respectively.

RHODE ISLANDIn the state of Rhode Island, 53.5% of young children are reported to be read to daily, ranking 13th of51 in the nation. The early childhood population is predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (72.5%), with3.6% Black (non-Hispanic), and 16.4% Hispanic. Reading rates vary considerably by family income.While only 38.6% of children with family incomes less than 200% FPL are read to daily (ranking 40thin the nation), 71.9% of children with family incomes at 400% FPL or above are read to daily, the high-est rate in the nation for children in this income category. On fourth grade reading tests, 30% of RhodeIsland children are proficient or above, a level which is at the national average, ranking 28th in thenation. Rhode Island is relatively well served for public libraries, ranking 18th in the nation for numberof young children per library facility. ROR has a relatively strong presence in Rhode Island, serving37.6% of all young children and 88.2% of low-income children, ranking 4th in the nation for ROR pen-etrance for both of these measures.

SOUTH CAROLINAIn South Carolina, 47.2% of children age five years and under are reported to be read to daily, just belowthe national average of 47.8% and ranking 31st in the nation. The early childhood population in thestate is 59.9% White (non-Hispanic), 33% Black (non-Hispanic), and 7.9% Hispanic. Children livingin families with incomes less than 200% FPL comprise 46.8% of the early childhood population in SouthCarolina. Reading rates vary by income, with 42.0% of children with family incomes less than 200% FPLread to daily compared with 55.7% of those with family incomes at 400% FPL or above. Additionally,while 53.2% of White (non-Hispanic) children are read to daily, only 38.2% of non-White young chil-dren are read to daily. Only 26% of fourth grade students in the state are proficient or above in reading,


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ranking 38th in the nation. Young children in South Carolina are relatively poorly served for publiclibraries, ranking 41st in the nation for number of young children per library facility. ROR has a relative-ly strong presence in South Carolina, reaching 59.9% of young low-income children and 29.0% of allyoung children in the state, ranking 6th in the nation for ROR penetrance for both of these measures.

SOUTH DAKOTA†In South Dakota, 46.6% of children ages five and under are reported to be read to daily, ranking 37th innation. Young children in South Dakota are predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (81.9%), with 0.4%Black (non-Hispanic), and 3% Hispanic. A little under half (45.4%) of South Dakota young childrenlive under 200% FPL. Reading rates vary by income with 42.6% of young children with family incomesless than 200% FPL read to daily compared with 62.1% of young children living at 400% FPL or greater.In South Dakota there was relatively little variation in reading by race/ethnicity with 47.6% of White(non-Hispanic) children read to daily compared with 43.3% of non-White children. Reading rates forWhite (non-Hispanic) children were low compared with White children in other states (ranking 48thin the nation), while rates for non-White children were moderately high compared with other states(15th in the nation). On fourth grade literacy tests, 33% of students were proficient or above in reading,ranking 19th in the nation. South Dakota has the highest uptake of the ROR program in the nation.ROR serves 79.6% of all young children in South Dakota and all low income children. South Dakota isalso relatively well served by public libraries, ranking 5th in the nation for number of young children perlibrary facility.

TENNESSEEIn the state of Tennessee, 45.4% of young children are reported to be read to daily, below the nationalaverage and ranking 41st of 51. In Tennessee, 46.3% of children age five and under live at or near pover-ty. The early childhood population of Tennessee is predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (71.8%),18.7% Black (non-Hispanic), and 6.3% Hispanic. Reading rates vary by income with 43.0% of youngchildren living in or near poverty read to daily compared with 54.4% those living at 400% FPL or greater.Only 27% of Tennessee fourth graders are proficient or above in reading skills, below the national aver-age and ranking 37th in the nation. Tennessee also has relatively poor grade repetition rate with 14.8%school age children having repeated at least one grade, ranking 39th in the nation. ROR currently hasvery limited presence in Tennessee, serving only 4.4% of young low-income children and 2.2% of allyoung children in the state, ranking 48th and 29th in the nation for ROR penetrance, respectively.


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TEXASRates of reading to young children in Texas are among the lowest in the nation, with only 41.7% of chil-dren age 0-5 reported to be read to daily, ranking 49th of 51. The Texas early childhood population is44.7% Hispanic, 42.3% White (non-Hispanic), and 8.4% Black (non-Hispanic). Half of young childrenin Texas live under 200% FPL (50.2%). Reading rates vary by income with 33.7% of young children withfamily incomes less than 200% FPL read to daily compared with 59.2% those with family incomes of400% FPL or greater. While 52.7% of White (non-Hispanic) children are read to daily, only 34.4% non-Whites are read to with the same frequency. Just over a quarter (29%) of Texas fourth graders are profi-cient or above in reading, below the national average and ranking 35th in the nation. Grade repetitionrates are close to the national average (11.4%), ranking 33rd in the nation. Texas ranks 48th in thenation for number of young children per library facility. ROR currently serves only 9.0% of all youngchildren, and 15.1% of low-income young children in Texas, ranking 33rd and 39th nationally for thesemeasures.

UTAHIn Utah, 46.6% of children age five and under are reported to be read to daily, just below the nationalaverage and ranking 36th in the nation. Young children in Utah are predominantly White (non-Hispanic) ( 82.7%), with 0.7% Black (non-Hispanic), and 12.4% Hispanic. The proportion of youngchildren who are low income is 45.8%. Utah also has a relatively low proportion of young children withfamily incomes of 400% FPL or above (12.5%). Reading rates vary by income, with 46.3% of young chil-dren living under 200% FPL read to daily compared with 57.7% of those living at 400% FPL or above.While 48.2% of White (non-Hispanic) children in Utah are reported to be read to daily, only 37.2% ofnon-White children are read to daily. On fourth grade national tests, 35% of Utah students are profi-cient or above in reading, ranking 12th in the nation. The grade repetition rate in Utah is the lowest inthe nation, with only 2.5% of school-age children having repeated at least one grade. Utah has a rela-tively high number of young children per public library, ranking 46th in the nation. Reach Out and Readhas a limited presence in Utah, reaching 9.6% of all young children and 18.5% of low income children,ranking 30th in the nation for both ROR penetrance measures.

VERMONTVermont ranks first in the nation for daily reading to young children, with 67.6% reported to be read todaily. The early childhood population of Vermont is mostly White (non-Hispanic) (92.6%), with 0.7%


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Black (non-Hispanic) and 2.4% Hispanic. Vermont has the lowest rate of poverty for young children inthe nation – only 7.9% of children age five and under are in families with incomes below the federalpoverty level. However, Vermont does not have a particularly high proportion of young children livingat 400% FPL or greater (21.3%). In Vermont, a high proportion of low income children are read to daily– 67.6%- the highest rate in the nation for children in this family income category. Surprisingly, dailyreading rates for families at 400% FPL or above were actually lower than those in lower income groups(61.4%). Fourth grade literacy tests show that 38% of Vermont children are proficient or above in theirreading skills, ranking 4th in the nation. Vermont has a lower than average grade repetition rate – 7.7%,15th of all states. ROR has a relatively high penetrance in Vermont, serving 40.1% of all young childrenand 78.1% of those in or near poverty, ranking 3rd and 5th for these measures. Vermont is also wellserved for public libraries, having the lowest ratio of young children to libraries (214:1) in the nation.

VIRGINIAIn the state of Virginia, 51.2% of children age five and under are read to daily, above the national aver-age and ranking 18th nationally. Young children in Virginia are mainly White (non-Hispanic) (61.0%),with 23.7% Black (non-Hispanic), and 6.3% Hispanic. Virginia is a relatively affluent state yet still34.7% of young children are living below 200% FPL, and 31.4% of children living at 400% FPL orgreater. Reading rates vary by income with only 38.4% of young children living at less than 200% FPLread to daily compared with 60.5% of those living at 400% FPL or greater. Only 40.1% non-White chil-dren are reported to be read to every day compared with 57.3% White (non-Hispanic) children. InVirginia, 37% of fourth graders are proficient or above in reading on national testing, ranking 7th in thenation. A relatively high proportion of school-age children in Virginia – 13.1%- have repeated at leastone grade, ranking 37th. Virginia has a higher than average number of young children per public libraryranking 38th in the nation. Reach Out and Read serves 19.2% of the early childhood population, and45.9% of low-income young children in Virginia, ranking 9th and 8th respectively for these measures.

WASHINGTONThe state of Washington ranks 12th in the nation for daily reading to young children with 54% of chil-dren age five and under read to daily. Young children in Washington state are 65.6% White (non-Hispanic), 4.3% Black (non-Hispanic), and 13.4% Hispanic. The young childhood population is 38.1%low income. Reading rate varies by race/ethnicity with 58.7% of White (non-Hispanic) children read todaily compared with 44.9% of non-White children. While reading rates vary by poverty level, rates are


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relatively high among young children living below 200% FPL with 53.0% read to daily compared with61.7% of young children with family incomes of 400% FPL or greater. Thirty-five percent (35%) offourth-graders are proficient or above in their reading skills, above the national average, and ranking12th in the nation. A relatively low proportion of school age children, 6.9% have ever repeated a grade.The number of young children per public library is above the national average, ranking 33rd in thenation. Reach Out and Read serves 13.5% of low-income young children, and 6.9% all young childrenin Washington state.

WEST VIRGINIAWest Virginia reports a relatively high rate of reading to young children, with 54.4% read to daily, rank-ing 11th of all states in the nation. West Virginia has a high proportion of children who are low income,57.4% living under 200% FPL. West Virginia also has the second lowest proportion of young childrenwith a family income of 400% FPL or greater (11.6%), with only New Mexico having a lower propor-tion of children in this income category. Young children in West Virginia are predominantly White(non-Hispanic) (92.6%). Reading rates in the state vary little by income, with 54.8% of low income chil-dren reported to be read to daily compared with 52.1% young children living at 400% FPL or above.While 47.9% of non-White children are read to daily compared with 54.6% of White (non-Hispanic)children, the difference is less marked than in other states, and reading rates for non-White children arerelatively high compared with other states. West Virginia is relatively well served for public libraries,having a ratio of 696 young children to each library, ranking 12th in the nation. Only 26% of fourthgraders are proficient or above in reading, a proportion below the national average and ranking 38th inthe nation. A relatively high proportion of school-age children (16.7%) have repeated at least one grade,ranking 47th in the nation for this measure. ROR currently reaches only 10.3% of young children inWest Virginia, and 16.7% of young, low-income children in the state.

WISCONSIN**In Wisconsin, 46.1% of young children are reported to be read to daily, below the national average andranking 38th in the nation. Young children in Wisconsin are predominantly White (non-Hispanic)(78.2%), with 8.3% Black (non-Hispanic), and 7.5% Hispanic. Wisconsin has a relatively low propor-tion of young children who are low income, with 36.3% living under 200% FPL. Only 30.5% of non-White children are read to daily compared with 50.8% of White (non-Hispanic) children, while 33.3%of young children with family incomes below 200% FPL are read to daily compared with 52.2% of those


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with a family income of 400% FPL or greater. Thirty-three percent (33%) of Wisconsin fourth gradersare proficient or above in reading, just above the national average and ranking 19th in the nation.Wisconsin has a low grade repetition rate of only 5.7%, ranking 4th in the nation. Wisconsin is relative-ly well-served for public libraries, the ratio of young children to public libraries being below the nation-al average. ROR currently reaches 6.0% of young children in the state and 15.2% of those who are lowincome, ranking 35th and 29th respectively in the nation for ROR penetrance.

WYOMINGWyoming ranks 14th in the nation for daily reading to young children with 53% of children age five andunder reported to be read to daily. The young childhood population is predominantly White (non-Hispanic) (83.9%), with 0.3% Black (non-Hispanic), and 9.6% Hispanic. In Wyoming, 44.4% of youngchildren live in poverty. Reading rates vary little by income level, with 51.7% of young children whosefamilies have incomes less than 200% FPL reported to be read to daily compared with 56.7% of thoseliving at 400% FPL or greater. Only 45.8% of non-White children are read to daily compared with 54.5%White (non-Hispanic) children. In Wyoming, 34% of fourth graders are proficient or above in reading,ranking 17th in the nation. Wyoming ranks 18th for grade repetition (8.5%). The state is relatively well-served for public libraries, with 493 young children per library facility – below the national average andranking 18th among states. Wyoming has the lowest penetrance of ROR of any state in the nation, serv-ing only 1.0% of low-income and 0.6% of all children aged five and under in the state.


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Appendix

National Survey of Children’s HealthThe National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), conducted in 2003-2004, addresses multiple aspectsof children’s health and well-being. One of its strengths as a dataset is that it incorporates measures ofthe many contexts in which children grow and develop including their family and community environ-ments. Content domains for the survey were recommended by a National Expert Panel and included (1)demographics; (2) physical and mental health status; (3) health insurance, (4) health care utilization andaccess to health care; (5) medical home; (6) family functioning; (7) parents’ health and (8) neighbor-hood characteristics. In addition to the core sections asked of all children the survey contained two age-limited sections asking more specific questions for children aged from birth to five years, and from 6-17years. The NSCH was conducted by telephone in English and Spanish. The sampling and data collec-tion for NSCH was conducted using the SLAITS (State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey)program, an approach developed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC) Center to quickly and consistently collect information on avariety of health topics at local and national levels. It used the same large-scale random digit-dial sam-pling frame as the CDC’s National Immunization Survey. (Blumberg et al., 2005)

Approximately 1.9 million telephone numbers were randomly generated for inclusion in the NSCH.After eliminating numbers that were nonresidential or non working, the remaining numbers were calledto identify households with children aged less than 18 years of age in each of the 50 States and theDistrict of Columbia. One child was randomly selected from all children in the household to be the sub-ject of the survey, while the respondent was the parent or guardian who knew most about the child’shealth and health care. Consent for participation in the study was obtained from NSCH respondents assoon as it was determined that the household contained an age-eligible child. For 79% of the children,the respondent was the mother, with fathers being the respondent in 17% cases, grandparents in 3% andother relatives or guardians in 1%. Overall, 5.9% interviews were conducted in Spanish. A total of102,353 interviews (target 2,000 per state) were completed from January 2003 to July 2004 for childrenbetween the ages of 0-17 years, with 87% interviews being completed in 2003. The number of interviewscompleted varied by State ranging from 1,848 in New Mexico to 2,241 in Louisiana and Ohio, with anaverage of 2007. One exception was Utah where only 1,483 interviews were completed. Twenty-fivestates exceeded the goal of 2,000 interviews per state. A computer-assisted telephone interviewing sys-tem was used to collect the data.

The proportion of interviews which were completed once it was determined that the householdincluded a child under the age of 18 years, also known as the cooperation rate, was 68.8%. In calculat-


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ing the national weighted response rate, the resolution rate (the proportion of telephone numbers iden-tified as residential or nonresidential) and the screening completion rate (the proportion of householdssuccessfully screened for children) were incorporated in addition to the cooperation rate, giving an over-all national weighted response rate of 55.3%. The overall response rate varied from 49.6% in New Jerseyto 64.4% in South Dakota. A number of strategies were employed to increase the response rate includ-ing advance mailing of letters to households to introduce the survey, and leaving toll-free numbers onpotential respondents answer machines to encourage them to call back. Part-way through the data col-lection period a small monetary incentive was implemented differentially by state for households withchildren who initially declined to participate.

To produce population-based estimates, data records for each interview were assigned a samplingweight based on the probability of selection of each household telephone number within each State,with adjustments made to compensate for households with multiple telephones, for those with no tele-phones, and for non-responders. Using US Census Bureau data, weights were also adjusted by age, sex,race, ethnicity, household size, and educational attainment of the most highly educated household mem-ber to provide a dataset which was more representative of each State’s population of non-institutional-ized children.

Reading to Young ChildrenFor all children ages 0-5 years who participated in the NSCH, parents were asked:

“During the past week, how many days did you or other family members read stories to [CHILD]?”

Answer was given in number of days, minimum 0, maximum 7. The prompt encouraged parents toinclude all books with words or pictures, but not books read by or with the assistance of an audio tape,record, CD or computer. For the national-level analysis presented in this chartbook daily reading was cat-egorized as zero days per week, 1-2 days per week, 3-6 days per week and every day. For the state-levelanalyses reading data was dichotomized into daily reading vs. less than daily reading.

Child and Family FactorsChild race/ethnicity was analyzed in relation to patterns of reading. Racial and ethnic groups were mutu-ally exclusive. Data for White, Black, multiracial and other races did not include Hispanics, who may beof any race. Consequently children’s race/ethnicity was categorized as Hispanic, non-Hispanic White,non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic Multiracial and non-Hispanic other. Child’s age was reported by par-


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ents and divided into six categories for national data reporting (<1 year, 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 years) and to twocategories (0-3 years and 4-5 years) for state-level reporting.

Factors analyzed at the family level in relation to daily reading to young children were highest edu-cational level attained by anyone in the household, primary language spoken at home, and familyincome. Data on educational level achieved were recorded as never attended; elementary; high school:college, graduate school and don’t know or refused. For the analysis this variable was categorized as lessthan high school, high school and greater than high school education. Primary language spoken at homewas dichotomized into English vs. any other language. For 80% respondents to the survey the other lan-guage was Spanish. Family income was divided into five categories for national-level analysis:<100%FPL, 100-199% FPL, 200-299% FPL, 300-399% FPL, and 400% or more FPL. For state-levelanalyses, three categories were used: <200%FPL, 200-399% FPL and 400%FPL or greater. In 2003, theFederal Poverty Level (FPL) was $18,400 for a family of four.

Accuracy of the ResultsData from the National Survey of Children’s Health are all from parent report so they are subjective andbased on the perceptions of each family. The data are subject to the usual variability associated with anysample survey. The data presented in this chartbook represent basic information on patterns of readingto young children. More detailed analyses will be needed to further explore factors contributing to thedifferences in reported reading rates.

For more details please see www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits.htm and www.mchb.hrsa.gov

Early Childhood Literacy ResourcesData on Reach Out and Read penetrance among all children age 0-5 and children living in or nearpoverty were provided by the Reach Out and Read National Center based on their 2005 data. Earlychildhood populations were estimated using 2000 Census data in order to calculate the proportion ofchildren served within each state.

Public Library Data were obtained using information from the US Department of Education on num-ber of libraries in each state. For more information go to http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries. Census dataon the total early child population were used to calculate a ratio of number of children age 0-5 per pub-lic library within each state.


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School Performance DataReading level proficiency data were obtained from the National Assessment of Educational Progress,which is a nationwide assessment of students in the United States. Results from the 2005 sample offourth grade children were obtained form the Nation’s Reading Report Card. The NAEP readingAssessment at fourth grade assesses both reading for literary experience, and reading for information.Readers are assessed on forming an understanding of the text, developing an interpretation, making read-er/text connections and examining content and structure. NAEP cut scores are determined through astandard-setting process that convenes a cross-section of educators and interested citizens from across thenation. The group determines what students should know and be able to do relative to a body of contentreflected in the framework. The National Assessment Governing Board then adopts a set of cut scoreson the scale that defines the lower boundaries of Basic, Proficient and Advanced. These categorizationsare classed as being used on a trial basis. They should be interpreted with caution, however are believedto be useful for understanding trends in student achievement. For more information see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

Information on whether children age 6-17 had repeated at least one grade were obtained using theNational Survey of Children’s Health, which asked parents of children age 6-17 whether their child hadrepeated at least one grade in school.


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Footnotes

US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration,Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The National Survey of Children’s Health (2003), Rockville,Maryland; US department of Health and Human Services 2005. For interactive data enquiries please goto Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) Data Resource Center for Child andAdolescent Health www.childhealthdata.org

Reach Out and Read Data, 2007Chute, A., Kroe, P.E., O’Shea, P., Craig, T., Freeman, M., Hardesty, L., McLaughlin, J.F., and Ramsey,C.J. (2006). Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 2004 (NCES 2006-349). U.S. Department ofEducation. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006349_1.pdfPerie M, Grigg W, Donahue P. (2005). The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2005 (NCES 2006–451).U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C.: U.S.Government Printing Office. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.In the state tables, ranking noted with an asterisk (*) assume that lower numbers are desirable thus stateswith lower numbers have higher rankings.Data from South Dakota show that 144% of children in or near poverty are served by ROR; the discrep-ancy is likely due to the fact that Census data was used to estimate the number of children in the stateand the Census data were from 2000 and ROR data were from 2007. In South Dakota, the state fundsthe ROR program for all children in the state thus the chart reflects 100% of low income children inSouth Dakota were served by ROR.For states marked with a double asterisk (**) data on proportion of children aged 5 and younger servedby ROR in each state are estimates, derived from ROR data on number of children served and Year 2000Census data. Data on proportion of children living under 200% FPL served by ROR are further derivedfrom state ROR data on children served. In states where the income data for children served by RORsites were insufficient (AR, AK, DE IA, KS, MO, NH, NM, & WI), estimates were derived from pro-jected incomes of families served by ROR based on national ROR data.


1

2

3

4

*

†

**

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References

Anderson RC, Hiebert EH, Scott JA, Wilkinson IAG. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The reportof the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC. National Academy of Education, National Instituteof Education, Center for the Study of Reading.

Blumberg SJ, Olson L, Tomany-Korman SC. (2005). Racial and Ethnic disparities in early childhoodhealth and health care. Pediatrics 115(2):e183-93.

Bus AG, Van Ijzendoorn MH, Pellegrini AD. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learningto read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research65(5):1-21.

Chandler K, Nord CW, Lennon J, & Liu B. (1999 November). Statistics in Brief: Home LiteracyActivities & Signs of Children's Emerging Literacy. 1993 & 1999. Washington DC: National Center forEducation Statistics: Based on National Household Education Survey, 1993 and 1999 analyses.http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000026

Hart B, Risley TR. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American chil-dren. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Heckman J. (2006). Skill formation and the Economics of Investing in disadvantaged Children. ScienceMagazine 312(5782):1900-1902

Juel C, Leavell JA. (1988). Retention and nonretention of at-risk readers in first grade and their subse-quent reading achievement. J. Learn Disabil. 21(9):571-80

International Reading Association and National Association for the Education of Youth Children.(1998). Learning to reading and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. YoungChildren, 54(4):3-46.

Mendelsohn AL, Mogilner NL, Dreyer BP, Forman JA, Weinstein SC, Broderick M, Cheng KJ, MagloireT, Moore T, Naprier C. (2001). The impact of a clinic-based literacy intervention on language develop-ment in inner-city preschool children. Pediatrics, 107(1):130-134.

National Early Literacy Panel (2007). Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Louisville, KY:National Center for Family Literacy.

Needlman, R, Toker, HK, Dreyer, BP, KLass, P, Mendelsohn, AL. (2005). Effectiveness of a primary careintervention to support reading aloud: A multicenter evaluation. Ambulatory Pediatrics 5(4):209-215.


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Perie M, Grigg W, Donahue P. (2005). The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2005 (NCES 2006–451).U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C.: U.S.Government Printing Office. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.

Snow CE, Burns S, Griffin P (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration,Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The National Survey of Children’s Health (2003). RockvilleMaryland: US Department of Health and Human Services, 2005.

Weitzman CC, Roy L, Walls T, Tomlin R. (2004) More evidence for Reach Out and Read: A Home-Based Study. Pediatrics 113 (5):1248-1253.


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Reach Out and Read National Center56 Roland Street, Suite 100DBoston, MA 02129-1243phone: 617-455-0600fax: 617-455-0601.Website: www.reachoutandread.org

UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities1100 Glendon Ave., Suite 850Los Angeles, CA 90024Telephone Number: (310) 794-2583Fax: (310) 794-2728Website: www.healthychild.ucla.edu

Boston UniversitySchool of Medicine,Boston Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics771 Albany Street, Suite 3509Boston, MA 02118phone: 617-414-7424fax: 617-414-3833


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