New Hampshire’s statewide reading and writing proficiency rate held at 55% in 2026, while one closely watched elementary cohort posted a five-point gain as it moved from fourth grade to fifth grade, according to results released by the state Department of Education.
The department’s September 2 results summary says proficiency for students advancing from fourth to fifth grade increased from 53% to 58%. It also reports that some individual schools improved proficiency by nearly 30 percentage points between 2024 and 2026. Those school-level gains are not the statewide average, but they show why the flat statewide reading figure can coexist with substantial movement in particular communities.
The results provide an early statewide measure of academic performance from the 2025-26 school year. New Hampshire’s Office of Assessment cautions that standardized scores should be considered alongside classroom assignments, projects, essays and local assessments. In practice, the proficiency rate is a broad indicator of whether students met the state standard on the tested material; it is not a complete measure of an individual child, teacher or school.
That distinction also matters when comparing years. A school’s tested population changes as students advance, enroll or leave, so a one-year percentage shift does not by itself establish why performance changed. The fourth-to-fifth-grade comparison is useful because it follows the progression of a grade cohort, but it still reports an aggregate result rather than each student’s trajectory.
The testing system covers different subjects by grade. State assessment materials explain that students in grades three through eight take English language arts and mathematics assessments, students in grades five and eight also take science, and 11th graders take the SAT School Day for English language arts and mathematics plus the state science assessment. Public and chartered public schools participate under state and federal requirements.
What families can check
Families do not have to rely only on statewide percentages. The official NH SAS family portal allows a parent or guardian to view a child’s results using the student’s six-character access code, date of birth and first name. Families who do not have the access code should contact their school or district rather than attempt to infer a student’s performance from the statewide rate.
The state’s assessment portal also publishes practice tests and subject resources for mathematics, English language arts and writing, and science. Those materials can help families see the types of skills assessed and place an individual report in context.
For school boards and district leaders, the important distinction is between a statewide plateau and local trends. A stable 55% statewide reading and writing rate means nearly half of tested students did not reach the proficiency benchmark, even as some grades and schools advanced. The department’s release frames the 2026 results as evidence of both gains and continuing room for improvement, rather than a uniform statewide shift.
