Reading by 3rd Grade is Make-or-Break Benchmark

The reading crisis is widespread (68 percent of all 4th graders scored below proficient on the 2009 NAEP), worse than we think (only 16 states set their proficiency standards at levels that meet or exceed NAEP’s lower "basic" standard), and exacerbated for children living in poverty (and even worse for low-income students attending high-poverty schools).

The Annie E. Casey Foundation compiles this evidence to make the case for better alignment and focus in reading programs targeted at the birth to 3rd grade demographic. After 3rd grade, instruction shifts from learning to read, to reading to learn. Students who hit 4th grade without the ability to read are more likely to drop out and face associated challenges in work and life.

Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters sets the tone and makes recommendations that will ideally take shape in the foundation's forthcoming 10-year initiative to raise reading proficiency levels by 3rd grade.