For ages teachers have told us how important the basics–Reading, Writing, Arithmetic–are to our future success. And, school assessments, college admissions exams and proficiency tests for jobs all test those skills as a means of determining whether or not we are qualified to attend college, be promoted to the next grade or be offered a job.

Recently, national assessment data revealed that 69% of all U.S. 8th graders are performing at/below Basic* level in math. Seventy-three percent of U.S. 8th graders performed at/below Basic* level. Only 3% of U.S. 8th graders are performing at an Advanced** level in reading; 6% performed at an Advanced** level in math.

There is still much debate about the skills required for success in the jobs of the future. But, what is certainly true is that poor performance in math, reading and other subjects in middle and high school leads to many students taking remedial classes in college. In fact, 61% of all students enrolled in public, 2-year colleges, and 25% of students enrolled in 4-year colleges, take at least one remedial class.

Students who took any college remedial reading classes were less likely than their peers who took one or two remedial mathematics courses only or just one remedial course (not mathematics or reading) to complete a bachelor’s degree or higher (17 vs. 27 and 39 percent, respectively).

So, rather surprisingly, it turns out that reading is the most fundamental of all the fundamental subjects. Before reading the study by the National Center for Education Statistics I believed, as many do, that student performance in math, science and technology-related subjects was a more reliable indicator of future success, both in college and career. This study, coupled with the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress results, reveals that a greater focus on reading might actually serve us better.

*Basic – One of the three NAEP achievement levels, denoting partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at each grade assessed.

**Advanced – denoting superior performance at each grade assessed.