Preparing All Minnesota Children to Read by Third Grade

Reading is a fundamental life skill, and the primary tool for gaining knowledge. Minnesotans who lack basic literacy skills will have no meaningful opportunity to participate in our “information economy.”

Third grade is the watershed year for learning to read. Students who can’t read well by the end of that year have little chance of ever doing so. It’s often said that until third grade, children are “learning to read,” while after third grade, they are “reading to learn.”

Starting in fourth grade, students must be equipped to read social studies, science, literature and math textbooks with ease and accuracy in order to continue to benefit from school. Today, far too many Minnesota children are leaving third grade unable to do this.

In 2010, 27 percent of Minnesota students scored below grade level in reading on the grade 4 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA II).  Children who score at this level are wholly unprepared for the academic rigors that await them.

What happens to Minnesota youngsters who finish third grade still lacking basic literacy skills? The vast majority are passed on to fourth grade through what’s known as “social promotion.”

From a long-term perspective, the real punishment for failing third-grade readers is to pass them on to fourth-grade, without regard to their ability to meet expectations there. The most effective way to help these struggling students is to give them a second, enriched opportunity to master the vital skills that schools have so far failed to teach them.

There is a better way, and we can look to the state of Florida to learn about it. Florida has launched a ground-breaking campaign to ensure that children of all backgrounds can read at grade level by the end of third grade.

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