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Lowest Reading Scores By State (PHOTOS)

Lowest Reading Scores By State (PHOTOS)
Zoe Triska
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If you want to know reading scores, the NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, tests students every year in reading and math to see how far they have come from previous years, and to determine how students are generally progressing.

The most recent available are shocking. It is simply startling how low some states performed on the reading portions of the tests. Massachusetts came in first place, with 47 percent of its students scoring "proficient" or above on the reading portion.

Below is a slideshow of the lowest performing states for the 4th grade reading test portion of 2009.

You can check out how the other states ranked, as well as other information like school funding and demographics here.

Tennessee(01 of15)
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In Tennessee, 28 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Texas(02 of15)
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In Texas, 28 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Oklahoma(03 of15)
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In Oklahoma, 28 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Alabama(04 of15)
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In Alabama, 28 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
South Carolina(05 of15)
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In South Carolina, 28 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Alaska(06 of15)
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In Alaska, 27 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Hawaii(07 of15)
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In Hawaii, 26 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
West Virginia(08 of15)
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In West Virginia, 26 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Arizona(09 of15)
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In Arizona, 25 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
California(10 of15)
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In California, 24 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Nevada(11 of15)
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In Nevada, 24 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Mississippi(12 of15)
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In Mississippi, 22 percent of 4th graders scored "proficient" or above in reading.
New Mexico(13 of15)
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In New Mexico, 20 percent of students scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Louisiana(14 of15)
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In Louisiana, 18 percent of students scored "proficient" or above in reading.
Washington DC(15 of15)
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In Washington DC, 17 percent of students scored "proficient" or above in reading.

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