Only one in four Oklahoma public-school students is meeting grade-level expectations in reading, while 37 percent are roughly a year behind or more, according to the results of state tests administered in the spring.

Among third-grade students, an even larger share is struggling with reading.

Results for third-grade students in the 2025-2026 school year show that only 25 percent scored proficient or better on state English Language Arts (ELA) tests. Meanwhile, 44 percent scored “below basic,” indicating they are performing about a year or more below grade-level expectations.

Those results, which continue a downward trend for most of the past decade, highlight why lawmakers voted this year to overhaul reading instruction in Oklahoma’s public schools.

“These results are exactly why improving literacy outcomes in Oklahoma has been such a priority for the Legislature,” said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. “We recognize that far too many Oklahoma students are not reading at grade level, and we cannot be satisfied with the status quo. More funding alone has not translated into the outcomes our students deserve, and we have a responsibility to ensure our investments are producing meaningful results in the classroom. The Strong Readers Act represents an important step toward changing that trajectory by emphasizing early literacy, strengthening reading instruction, and ensuring schools receive the support they need to develop proficient readers.”

“These results make it clear that we have significant work to do, and that is exactly why improving reading proficiency was such a priority for us this year,” said state Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond. “This has been a focus of mine since coming to the Senate and serving as Senate Education Chairman, and it’s something my colleagues and I have been working to address for a long time.”

The Strong Readers Act, Senate Bill 1778, by Pugh and Hilbert, focused on improving Oklahoma’s poor reading outcomes and was one of the major bills signed into law this year.

The legislation states, “It is the intent of the Legislature that every student reads at or above grade level by the end of third grade,” and the new law requires third-grade students to score above the “below basic” level on state reading tests before they can be promoted to the fourth grade starting in the 2027-2028 school year.

Had the law’s provision been in effect in the 2025-2026 school year, up to 44 percent of third-grade students might have been held back, although the bill provides exemptions for some students, such as English language learners with less than two years of English instruction.

This year’s state budget agreement included more than $43 million for reading instruction and interventions in schools, $5 million in supplemental investment for teacher training academies, and $5 million in ongoing annual funding for teacher training programs. In addition, the state invested more than $5 million in reading-at-home initiatives and provided dedicated funding for math and reading screeners to help educators identify and address student learning needs earlier.

SB 1778 substantially duplicated a highly successful program used in Mississippi that has dramatically improved reading outcomes in that state and achieved national acclaim. SB 1778 also reinstated many requirements used successfully in Oklahoma prior to 2015 that boosted state reading outcomes above the national average before the prior Oklahoma law was watered down and largely repealed.

The decline in state testing results mirrors the outcome of national tests also administered to Oklahoma public-school students.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests showed that only 23 percent of Oklahoma fourth-grade students scored at or above proficient in 2024, the most recent year the NAEP reading test was administered. Only two states did worse on NAEP’s fourth-grade reading test.

While poor outcomes are often blamed on school funding, reading outcomes in Oklahoma have steadily declined even as school revenue has surged in recent years.

An NEA Research report showed that Oklahoma public schools had $15,111 in revenue receipts per student, based on average daily attendance, during the 2024-2025 school year, the most recent for which national data were available for all states. That was an increase of 55 percent since the 2017-2018 school year, when a prior edition of the NEA report found Oklahoma public schools had revenue receipts per student of $9,724.

State tests showed that 34.7 percent of students in all tested grades scored proficient or better in reading in 2018, when per-pupil revenue was much lower, compared to just 25.4 percent today.

Academic outcomes in other core subjects have also declined in recent years.

On state math tests, only 25 percent of all tested students scored proficient or better in 2026, while 38 percent scored below basic.

Outcomes were slightly better for science, where 30 percent of all students tested proficient or better but 41 percent still tested below basic.

Legislative leaders believe the Strong Readers Act will lead to significant improvement in student outcomes, but they also caution that a complete reversal is not likely in just one year.

“We know reversing years of disappointing outcomes will not happen overnight, but we are committed to giving teachers, parents and students the tools necessary to make meaningful progress,” Hilbert said. “Every Oklahoma child deserves the opportunity to succeed, and that starts with the ability to read.”

“We know that simply increasing education funding or putting more money into classrooms isn’t enough if we aren’t seeing meaningful improvements in student achievement,” Pugh said. “The reforms we advanced this year are designed to change that trajectory, but meaningful progress takes time. My hope is that when we look back on 2026, we will recognize it as the year Oklahoma began turning the corner on reading proficiency and giving more children the foundation they need to succeed.”