 Nearly 70% of North Carolina students are not at a proficient reading level by fourth grade, according to a new study from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2024 Kids Count Data Book. Ashley Allen of Read to Succeed in Asheville says, So when you start to think about the opportunity gap, which is the gap in achievement on standardized tests between black and brown students in their white cohort, you see that black and brown students are not achieving as high on these standardized tests.