Early literacy skills are critical to a successful school experience. Third grade is considered an important milestone in a student's career in terms of reading proficiency and is correlated to whether a student will graduate high school. Proficiency among historically underperforming students can show whether districts and education policymakers have made progress in closing the achievement gap between traditionally underserved groups and other students.

In 2022, 55% of students in Lancaster County and 32% of Lancaster City School District students scored as proficient or advanced on the PSSA Grade 3 English Language Arts exam, down from 60% in the County and 33% in the District in 2021.

In contrast, 39% of historically underperforming students in Lancaster County and 27% of historically underperforming students in the Lancaster City School District passed the exam, down from 42% in the County and 30% in the District in 2021. Lancaster County's 2022 rates for all students and historically underperforming students was above the statewide rates of 52% and 35% respectively.

Compared with surrounding counties, Lancaster County has the third highest proficiency rate among all students, following Chester (65%) and Cumberland (62%), and the second highest performance rate among historically underperforming students, following Cumberland County at 42%.

As assessments vary among states, it is not possible to include comparable data for the nation or other areas in this indicator. Data are from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The Spring 2020 PSSA was cancelled in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 2021 PSSA results were delayed. 2021 results may not reflect representative samples of the schools' students. Cross-year comparisons of proficiency are likely to be inaccurate for this reason.