The importance of grade-level reading: facts and statistics

The importance of grade-level reading: facts and statistics

? More than 80% of low-income children are not reading proficiently at the end of third grade.

? Research shows that proficiency in reading by the end of third grade enables students to shift from learning to read to reading to learn.

? Two-thirds of U.S. fourth graders are not proficient readers, according to national reading assessment data.

? An alarming number of children--about67 percentnationwide and more than 80 percentof those from low-income families--are not proficient readers by the end of third grade.

? Research shows that children from low income families are less likely to be read or spoken to regularly or to have access to books, literacy-rich environments, highquality early care, and prekindergarten programs. As a consequence, these children may hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their middle-income peers before reaching kindergarten.

? Research has found that within low income families, one in 10 kindergarten and first grade students nationwide misses nearly a month of school each year in excused and unexcused absences.

? Without having access to enriching activities over the summer months, by the end of fifth grade low income children are nearly three grade levels behind their peers.

? As early as 18 months, low-income children begin to fall behind in vocabulary development and other skills critical for school success.

? 74% of students who fail to read proficiently by the end of third grade falter in the later grades and often drop out before earning a high school diploma.

? 61 PERCENT of low-income children have no children's books at home. ? 30 MILLION Poor children hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more

affluent peers. ? By age 2, poor children are already behind their peers in listening, counting, and

other skills essential to literacy. ? A child's vocabulary as early as age 3 can predict third grade reading achievement. ? By age 5, a typical middle-class child recognizes 22 letters of the alphabet,

compared to 9 for a child from a low-income family.

? 65 percent of children ages 3-6 that are above poverty threshold can write their names, compared to only 45 percentof those children ages 3-6 that live below poverty threshold.

? One in 10 kindergarten students miss nearly a month of school every year. In some districts, it runs as high as 1 in 3.

? Kindergarteners who miss 10 percentof school days have lower academic performance when they reach first grade.

? Low-income students lose an average of more than two months in reading achievement in the summer, while their middle-income peers tend to make gains in reading

? By the end of fifth grade, disadvantaged children are nearly three grade equivalents behind their more affluent peers in reading.

? Studies show 6-week summer learning programs can produce statistically significant gains in reading performance.

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