If current trends hold true, 6.6 million low-income children in the birth to age 8 group are at increased risk of failing to graduate from high school on time because they won’t be able to meet N AEP’s proficient reading level by the end of third grade.
From:
Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters, a Kids Count Special Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found at
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/reports/readingmatters.aspx.
(
Click here to download a PDF of this report)
The first two recommendations in this report to improve 3
rd grade reading scores are to invest in young children during the critical developmental years prior to school entry.
RECOMMENDATION 1
Develop a coherent system of early care and education that aligns, integrates, and coordinates what happens from birth through third grade so children are ready to take on the learning tasks associated with fourth grade and beyond.
RECOMMENDATION 2
Encourage and enable parents,families, and caregivers to play theirindispensable roles as co-producersof good outcomes for their children.
