Only about one in three Salem-Keizer students can read at grade level. A national report released July 7 puts that local struggle in stark relief.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book finds Oregon ranks among the best states for insuring children but near the bottom for reading proficiency, according to OPB's coverage of the report.

For the roughly 40,000 students in Salem-Keizer Public Schools, the state's second-largest district, that gap plays out in classrooms every day.

State assessment data released in October 2025 showed 32.2% of Salem-Keizer students tested proficient in English language arts, compared with 43% statewide.

The district's ELA score rose half a percentage point from the prior year, the first improvement in three years.

"We are really proud of our third-grade reading scores," Olga Cobb, Salem-Keizer's deputy superintendent for elementary education, said when the results came out. "This is the first time they have improved in three years, since the pandemic."

Among high school juniors, the picture is bleaker. State tests in spring 2025 showed two in three Salem-Keizer juniors were below grade level in reading and writing. In math, just 10% were proficient.

The district graduated 2,772 seniors in the Class of 2025 at a 79.7% rate, slightly above the prior year's 79.4% but still below the state average.

One factor: how Oregon trains its teachers. A report last month found most of Oregon's state teacher preparation programs still receive a failing grade for reading instruction, meaning new elementary teachers enter classrooms without adequate training in the science of reading.

Statewide, academic achievement saw its first slight increase in all subjects since the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2024-25 school year, according to Oregon Department of Education data. But scores remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Superintendent Andrea Castañeda's 2025–27 strategic plan, titled "Climbing Together," commits Salem-Keizer to adopting high-quality instructional materials (new textbooks and curricula aligned to reading science) across all grade levels, with a specific focus on literacy.

Even with a $23 million budget gap for the 2026-27 school year, the district's budget proposal increases investments in elementary school reading. Oregon lawmakers have signaled that major changes to school funding could come in the 2027 legislative session, according to Salem Reporter.

Salem-Keizer tested 95.3% of its students in English assessments during 2024-25, well above the 89.2% statewide participation rate. The scores, in other words, aren't hiding behind opt-outs. They reflect the full picture of where Salem-Keizer kids stand.