Digest of Education Statistics 1997

Table 143.--Percentage of 3- to 5-year-olds who were read to every day in
the last week by a family member:1993, 1995, and 1996

_________________________________________________________________________________    
                                    |               |              |
                                    |               |              |
                                    |               |              |
           Characteristic           |     1993      |     1995     |    1996
                                    |               |              |
                                    |               |              |
____________________________________|_______________|______________|_____________
                 1                  |       2       |      3       |      4
____________________________________|_______________|______________|_____________
Percent of all 3- to 5-year-olds ...|            53 |           58 |          57
                                    |_______________|______________|_____________
Sex                                 |               |              |
  Male  ............................|            51 |           57 |          56
  Female ...........................|            54 |           59 |          57
                                    |               |              |
Race/ethnicity                      |               |              |
  White, non-Hispanic ..............|            59 |           65 |          64
  Black, non-Hispanic ..............|            39 |           43 |          44
  Hispanic .........................|            37 |           38 |          39
                                    |               |              |
Poverty status                      |               |              |
  Above poverty threshold ..........|            56 |           62 |          61
  At or below poverty threshold ....|            44 |           48 |          46
                                    |               |              |
Family composition of household     |               |              |
  Two parents ......................|            55 |           61 |          61
  One or no parent .................|            46 |           49 |          46
                                    |               |              |
Mother's education                  |               |              |
  Less than high school ............|            37 |           40 |          37
  High school/high school equivalent|            48 |           48 |          49
  Vocational/technical or           |               |              |
   some college ....................|            57 |           64 |          62
  College graduate .................|            71 |           76 |          77
                                    |               |              |
Mother's employment status          |               |              |
  35 hours or more per week ........|            52 |           55 |          54
  Less than 35 hours per week ......|            56 |           63 |          59
  Not in labor force ...............|            55 |           60 |          59
____________________________________|_______________|______________|_____________

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
National Household Education Survey, 1993, 1995, and 1996.  (This table was
prepared July 1997.)