Does K-3 reading matter? Ask the 70% of inmates who can’t read.

Life is unforgiving for children who can’t read. This is why K-3 reading matters so much.

Quality

Life is unforgiving for children who can’t read. More than 80 percent of students who fail to earn a high school diploma were struggling readers in third grade.

PrisonReading-FB_new

 

And once they drop out, the statistics get very bleak.

The evidence is overwhelming. Illiteracy damages lives. And the window of opportunity to do something about it closes quickly.

By third grade, students must make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. If they do not, they cannot do their coursework. And so each year as the grade level demands go up, they fall further behind, becoming outsiders inside their classrooms.

School becomes an increasing source of frustration. It loses its relevancy and they drop out.

This makes K-3 reading the most critical of all education reforms for millions of students. If we don’t effectively deal with it, then no other education reform matters.

We must demand that every child who sits in a classroom for four years enters fourth grade as a competent reader. If not, then what is the purpose of the classroom?

This goal can be met through strategies such as better teacher training and certification, pre-K early literacy, kindergarten literacy screening and retention policies that that provide intensive intervention for poor readers before they are promoted to fourth grade.

Visit ExcelinEd’s Policy Library to learn how states can prioritize literacy and equip each student to become a strong reader, or contact Cari@ExcelinEd.org to learn how ExcelinEd can support your state.


Check out these related posts on the #EdFly:

Solution Areas:

Early Literacy

About the Author