The Annie E. Casey Foundation takes on 3rd Grade Reading!

The Annie E. Casey Foundation announces a 10-year effort to raise 3rd graders’ reading proficiency with the launching of a new report, "Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters". “The evidence is clear that those students who do not read well have a very tough time succeeding in school and graduating from high schools and going on to successful careers and lives,” Ralph R. Smith, the executive vice president of the Baltimore-based Foundation, said in an interview. “The Casey Foundation is putting a stake in the ground on grade-level reading by the end of the 3rd grade.”

As noted on the cover, the report highlights the significance of 3rd grade as the time students move from "learning to read" to "reading to learn".  It goes on to review the reading proficiency data, the factors contributing to the current low rate of proficient readers and the impact of poor reading on a host of outcomes. The recommendations are multi-faceted and include specific actions in the following areas:

• align learning experiences from birth to 3rd grade to support "reading to learn";
• engage all adults, particularly parents and caregivers, as partners;
• focus on results-driven activities to create a culture of learning; and
• target chronic absences and summer learning.

The report ends with a call to action for all policymakers, educators, community members and families. The foundation will be announcing additional elements of this 10 year campaign in the coming months.  Watch this space for more information as it becomes available!

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