Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters

 

Michigan has a long way to go to make sure children have the reading skills they need by the end of third grade, a report released in May from the national KIDS COUNT project concludes.

The state ranks behind 33 other states when it comes to reading proficiency among its fourth-graders, with only three out of every 10 students considered proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, according to the report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters. Michigan, Louisiana and Wisconsin were last in the country for scores of African American fourth-graders.

“The report reinforces the urgency in Michigan of stepping up efforts that allow more kids to be proficient in reading by the end of third grade, and to close the large gaps by race and income,’’ said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, director of the Kids Count in Michigan project and a senior research associate at the Michigan League for Human Services.

“Research shows that kids who read by end of third grade graduate, and the ones who don’t read, don’t graduate.’’

The Michigan Department of Education this month is launching a statewide literacy initiative, trying to replicate the success of similar initiatives in Massachusetts and Kentucky. The initiative is aimed at developing a pre-K to adult statewide literacy strategy.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said the Early Warning report is a clear call to improve reading proficiency.

“We all have a stake in this,’’ Flanagan said. “Reading is the basic building block of a child’s education. Without the ability to read, a child’s chance at success in life is very limited.’’

The report also reinforces the need to make sure children have the support they need, starting from birth. Early childhood – ages 0 to 5 – is the most crucial learning period when 90 percent of the brain’s intellectual and emotional hardwiring is set for life, said Michele Corey, director of advocacy for Michigan’s Children, a partner in the release of Kids Count.

Read the report and consider how to address this issue in your district. Spread the word via  networks, website, Facebook, Twitter, media releases, and more.

Read the Report…
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A “Reading to Learn, Learning to Read” button can be placed on a website that links to the report. Download it here.