Statement by Patricia Levesque, ExcelinEd CEO, on Governor Kay Ivey’s action to protect the Alabama Literacy Act and support struggling readers.
“Governor Kay Ivey is a strong champion for all Alabama students, and her leadership today demonstrates her commitment to ensuring Alabama students are equipped with foundational reading skills necessary to succeed in life.
“We applaud Governor Ivey’s courage and commitment to closing learning gaps and ensuring students struggling with reading receive the additional time and specialized instruction needed to successfully make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn.”
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The Alabama Literacy Act, passed in 2019, is a comprehensive early literacy policy that contains all the necessary supports to improve reading achievement across the state:
Being able to read by the end of third grade is a critical juncture from learning to read to reading to learn. Without this foundational skill, students continue to struggle and fall behind in future courses. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, children who are not reading proficiently in third grade are four times more likely to drop out or fail to graduate from high school.
Neighboring states have seen success with the implementation of a comprehensive reading program. After multiple years, students in these states are making greater improvements on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). And those improvements translate to thousands more students with access to the lifelong opportunities and growth that literacy offers. Students in Florida and Mississippi who were retained in third grade performed better in the long run after they were given additional time and attention. The gains were even higher among traditionally disadvantaged groups.
