UAlbany study finds disparities in risks for reading difficulties emerge by kindergarten

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 10, 2025) — Early struggles with reading can have lifelong impacts on mental, physical and emotional health. Understanding who is most at risk of experiencing reading difficulties can inform strategies for early interventions to support students before they fall further behind. 

A new University at Albany study published in the Journal of School Psychology last week reports on disparities in the prevalence of early reading difficulties among U.S. elementary school students. Black, Hispanic and Native American children are significantly more likely to struggle with reading compared to their white and Asian peers. These gaps emerge by kindergarten. 

"We know that K-12 reading achievement is on the decline in the United States," said lead author Paul L. Morgan, Empire Innovation Professor and Social and Health Equity Endowed Professor in the College of Integrated Health Sciences and director of the Institute for Social and Health Equity. "We badly need research on why this is the case and how we can help struggling students. These students are falling increasingly behind. Other researchers have been calling for multiyear longitudinal studies based on nationally representative samples to examine which students are at greater risk for dyslexia. Our new study directly responds to these calls and helps clarify which factors are predictive of severe and persistent struggles in reading."

Prior studies have shown that students who display early reading difficulties are more likely to be bullies or victims of bullies during early and middle childhood and to have higher rates of arrest and incarceration during early adolescence and early adulthood. They are also more likely to experience unemployment or have low incomes as adults and are more susceptible to cognitive difficulties later in life. 

"Providing struggling readers with early interventions is critical to helping these students avoid adverse outcomes later in life," said coauthor Eric Hu, a research scientist at UAlbany’s Institute for Social and Health Equity. "First, we need to closely understand which students are at risk of struggling with reading, and what factors in their lives — both at home and at school — may explain their reading struggles. Our study helps to address these questions."

Analyzing reading achievement against risk factors 

The analysis used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11. This longitudinal, nationally representative sample was collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which followed a large cohort of U.S. students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Alongside demographic information, NCES collected data on the students, their homes and schools, and other social and environmental factors that could influence students’ reading skills. 

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 measured students’ academic achievement based on assessments developed and used by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which produces what is widely regarded as the “gold standard” of K-12th grade academic assessments in the United States. 

"Our analysis examined a wide range of potential explanatory factors that together create an exceptionally detailed picture of students’ lives and factors that could shape reading success," said Hu. "This included information reported by students’ parents about home life, aspects of the students’ schools, traits of the students themselves, as well as assessments of their math and science achievement and skills like executive functioning and classroom behavior."

Importantly, Morgan and Hu’s study examined students' reading achievement over time, so they could examine trends in students who experienced early reading difficulties as well as students who experienced repeated reading difficulties across multiple grades. 

Among the students included in the study, the researchers found that:

• In kindergarten, 17% of Hispanic students, 14% of Native American students and 14% of Black students displayed reading difficulties, compared to 8% of Asian students and 6% of white students. 

• From first to fifth grade, about 26% of Black, Hispanic or Native American students displayed reading difficulties at some point, compared to about 10% of white or Asian students. 

• From first to fifth grade, 17% of Hispanic students, 16% percent of Black students and 12% of Native American students displayed repeated reading difficulties, compared to about 7% and 4% of white and Asian students, respectively. 

What makes this study so unique is its comprehensive approach to examining risk factors for reading difficulties among a multiyear longitudinal and nationally representative sample of students. Previous research on this topic has often relied on smaller, less diverse samples, or has focused only on reading difficulties at a single time point and examined a limited set of academic or cognitive skills. 

"Before this analysis, we did not know, as a field, just how large these racial and ethnic differences in the risks for reading difficulties are and how early they occur," Morgan said. "We also didn’t know that these early difficulties are often experienced repeatedly over time. Our study adds new knowledge that the field has lacked, with important implications for enhancing educational equity and student outcomes for students at risk for dyslexia."

Family socioeconomic status and students' academic and cognitive skills at the start of kindergarten emerged as the most consistent predictors of early reading difficulties. Students from lower-income households and those who entered kindergarten with weaker reading, math and executive function skills were more likely to struggle with reading throughout elementary school. 

"Reading proficiency in the early grades lays the foundation for later academic success and societal opportunities," Morgan said. "Students who struggle with reading — both early and repeatedly over time — are at greater risk for many negative life outcomes, from behavioral issues to lower employment and earnings to incarceration. Our study suggests the need for policies and practices by kindergarten that target economic inequality and support high-quality early childhood learning experiences. Helping struggling readers during elementary school should help these students experience better opportunities across their course."