Grade 3 students lagging on reading
Almost half score below proficient; overhaul sought
Almost half of Massachusetts third-graders are not proficient readers, a sobering statistic in a new report that calls for an overhaul of reading programs across the state to reach children at an early age.
The report, commissioned by the Boston-based Strategies for Children and scheduled to be released today, urges state educators and education policy-makers to refocus literacy efforts on improving language development skills, starting with toddlers, with the aim of closing achievement gaps between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds.
“We know that we’re not doing a good enough job,’’ said Nonie Lesaux, the study’s lead author and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “We know that a lot of dollars are being spent. But the data would suggest that we’re not having nearly the impact that we ought to be having.’’
Third-grade reading proficiency is an indicator of later academic success, Lesaux said, and a large majority of children who struggle with reading in the third
LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES
- Former NH teacher convicted of touching student (AP, 8:58 a.m.)
- Kids labeled 'generation next' before they grow up (AP, 8 a.m.)
- Teams from across Ore. searching for missing boy (AP, 6:21 a.m.)
- NY school crowns gay friends prom king and queen (AP, 6/9/10)
- Minn. nurses strike is part of new union's push (AP, 6/9/10)
LATEST K-12 EDUCATION NEWS
- Report: Many Mass. 3rd-graders lag in reading (AP, 10:18 a.m.)
- Vt. student charged with assault in gym class (AP, 9:58 a.m.)
- Grade 3 students lagging on reading (Boston Globe, 6/9/10)
- One-room Northern California schoolhouse to close (AP, 6/9/10)
- Crews from across Oregon to join search for boy, 7 (AP, 6/9/10)