Kindergartners who started school scoring in the bottom 20% had only a 1 in 10 chance of reading proficiency by 3rd grade.

Proficiency by grade 3 is linked to long-term academic and life outcomes, making early identification of struggling students key.

Both the state as a whole and Dallas ISD made gains in math, and middle schoolers gained ground in reading. But fewer than half of third graders tested on grade level in reading ...

Those early differences can have critical implications for whether students ultimately reach proficiency by third grade — a critical academic benchmark closely tied to long-term educational success.