Americans struggle with literacy. It is estimated that more than half of American adults read below a sixth-grade level. In 2024, only 31 percent of American fourth graders and 35 percent of twelfth graders were proficient in literacy. The situation is similar in Nevada.

High-quality preschool programming can have a significant effect on future literacy, though universal preschool is not available in Nevada. Instruction is much more effective when kids are taught at the leading edge of their current abilities, called their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Doing this either requires individualized instruction or that all the students in a classroom be at the same skill level.

To better understand the instructional challenges faced by Nevada’s primary-grade teachers, the Guinn Center analyzed literacy proficiency data from 10 third-grade classrooms across the state. This study found that more than half of the students spanned at least five grade levels in their literacy abilities. Put another way, it is as though many teachers have children from first through fifth grade in a single classroom. Under these circumstances, it is very difficult to target each child’s ZPD through traditional instruction. Competency-based or self-paced learning can help students and teachers navigate the challenge of different skill levels in a classroom.