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 2023, 55% of students in Lancaster County and 33% of Lancaster City School District students scored as proficient or advanced on the PSSA Grade 3 English Language Arts exam. The county rate remained unchanged and the district rate increased 1 percentage point since 2022.

In contrast, 40% of historically underperforming students in Lancaster County and 29% of historically underperforming students in the Lancaster City School District passed the exam, up slightly from 39% in the County and 27% in the District in 2022. Lancaster County's 2023 rates for all students and historically underperforming students were above the statewide rates of 54% and 38% respectively.

Compared with surrounding counties, Lancaster County was tied with York county for the fourth highest proficiency rate among all students, following Chester (64%), Cumberland (62%), and Lebanon (56%). It had the third highest performance rate among historically underperforming students, following Cumberland County at 44% and Lebanon County at 41%.

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.