Springfield Public School students take a reading assessment called the Fountas & Pinell Benchmark Assessment (F & P) which measures reading and literacy skills and determines various levels of proficiency for a student based on their grade level. Students take this test at the beginning and end of a school year. The percent of all students completing 1st grade whose skills were measured at the benchmark on expected grade level or higher measured in this indicator.

The ultimate result that the Reading Success by 4th Grade campaign is trying to achieve is that all children are reading proficiently by the end of 3rd grade. To this end, it is important to benchmark the level of reading and language proficiency students have at the end of each grade leading up to 4th grade since literacy and language skills build upon each other. If a child is behind at the end of Kindergarten or 1st grade, they are already falling behind in what they need to learn in order to be proficient by 4th grade.

Source: Springfield Public School District