US Reading or Language Arts Proficiency for Grade 5 Students By State for the 2021-2022 School Year

Updated on January 11, 2026.

Based on data from the US Department of Education, for the 2021-2022 school year, the following US states were among the top 5 who had the highest percentage of their Grade 5 students being proficient in Reading or Language Arts: Maine (82.2%), Iowa (66.4%), Ohio (64.4%), Minnesota (59.4%), and Wyoming (57%).

It was 30.4% for District of Columbia, and 8% for the Bureau of Indian Education.

You can see similar information for other grade levels.

The interactive chart below shows the percentage of each state's Grade 5 students who were proficient in reading or language arts. The table below shows the number of students and percentage proficient in reading or language arts.

Data Source: US Dept. of Education, EdFacts.

US Percent of Grade 5 Students Proficient in Reading or Language Arts By State in 2021-2022

< 50%

50-60%

61-70%

71-80%

Over 80%

US Grade 5 Reading or Language Arts Proficiency By State in 2021-2022

Items per page:

0 of 0

State	Number of Students	Percent Proficient (%)
Alabama	53789	46.8
Alaska	8197	37.3
Arizona	80621	39
Arkansas	35607	39.8
California	432476	46.7
Colorado	57693	45.3
Connecticut	35758	52.4
Delaware	10367	45.3
Florida	213628	55
Georgia	126751	42
Hawaii	13263	54.7
Idaho	23636	56.5
Illinois	131993	30
Indiana	74014	39.6
Iowa	34946	66.4
Kansas	33039	39.7
Kentucky	47021	45
Louisiana	49067	40.2
Maine	11828	82.2
Maryland	65253	40.7
Massachusetts	66199	40.6
Michigan	99756	43.5
Minnesota	60553	59.4
Mississippi	33703	46.4
Missouri	64663	44
Montana	11335	47.5
Nebraska	23029	47.3
Nevada	35230	45.4
New Hampshire	12017	54.3
New Jersey	96926	49.4
New Mexico	22311	35.7
New York	160160	38.5
North Carolina	113616	45.7
North Dakota	8423	45.3
Ohio	121423	64.4
Oklahoma	49486	27.8
Oregon	38377	47.1
Pennsylvania	120598	53
Rhode Island	9980	31.7
South Carolina	57578	48.2
South Dakota	10314	49.5
Tennessee	71437	38
Texas	391920	56.6
Vermont	5573	46.4
Washington	77178	53.4
West Virginia	17842	40.7
Wisconsin	55783	40.8
Wyoming	6911	57
District of Columbia	5987	30.4
Puerto Rico	18739	35.5
Bureau of Indian Education	2475	8