Early literacy is essential for educational progress. Children’s reading levels at third grade are one of the most significant and reliable predictors of future attainment; if a child is unable to read by third grade, they will struggle in school and are more likely to drop out of high school. Students need foundational reading skills to learn, graduate and succeed and without them, their future success – and the Commonwealth’s ability to develop an educated workforce is at risk. Unfortunately, early reading proficiency in Pennsylvania is not where it needs to be for students to thrive academically or for the Commonwealth’s long term economic viability and competitiveness. The percentage of students scoring proficient in reading on the third grade PSSA decreased from 61.9% in 2019 to 54% in 2023. Pennsylvania student performance on the 2022 NAEP reading assessment showed similar results; nearly half of Pennsylvania’s fourth graders were reading below grade level. 3 Pennsylvania must adopt evidence-based strategies and interventions to increase early literacy proficiency. Investments in solutions that improve outcomes in the early grades prevent costly remediation in older grades.
Click here to learn more about Read Alliance (READ), NYC-based literacy-focused nonprofit. Read Alliance works to accelerate the educational trajectory of early elementary students through the power of teens who provide one-to-one literacy tutoring in under-resourced communities. READ has been operational in the Reading Area School District since 2021.