Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is throwing her weight behind a statewide push to enhance literacy education for young students — as the U.S. struggles with low literacy rates, and the Commonwealth reckons with it's own middling numbers.
Two new rounds of grants for elementary schools in August are just the latest developments in a concentrated effort by the state to ensure that younger students are given the structured education necessary to develop critical reading skills, between kindergarten and third grade. Healey's 'Literacy Launch' initiative has so far distributed millions of dollars through PRISM (Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts) grants, on top of a $25 million investment in education through a supplemental budget using funds from the Fair Share amendment: a tax on income over $1 million.
When put head-to-head, Massachusetts is typically at the top of national rankings for youth literacy. The most recent report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) ranked the Bay State as best in the country for fourth and eighth grade reading and math. But tucked into the data are troubling trends, says Reading League Massachusetts President Sarah Fennelly.
"There's different levels, and the two top tiers are called Proficient and Advanced. Those levels are ones where the students, for example, in fourth grade, can read and comprehend materials at the fourth grade level." Fennelly explained. "Then there's Basic and then Below Basic. Approximately 60% of students in both grades four and eight are Below Proficient."
When looking at kindergarten through third grade — the age range the Healey administration is focusing on — data from the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found that around 25% of students are falling 'below benchmark levels'. That number fluctuates, getting worse for students in poorer school districts, or for students for whom English is not their first language.
Compared to the rest of the nation — Massachusetts literacy rates end up looking quite good. Most other state's NAEP scores show around 70% to 80% of students scoring below proficient in reading. The National Literacy Institute estimates that 40% of students across the country cannot read at a basic level.
There's different theories as to what's behind those numbers, from COVID learning loss to intensified phone usage by younger and younger students. But the solution, according to Fennelly, is consistent and structured literacy education. She says it's extremely important how young kids are taught to read, because there's no inherent developmental mechanism for learning that skill.
"The whole process of learning to read has to be explicit, because there's nothing for students to young children to catch on to," she said. "There's nothing in there. We have to create it. We are actually creating the neurons in the brain because they aren't there to begin with."
That's why much of the state funding promotes something called high-dosage tutoring, which focuses on creating a more consistent learning environment that is shaped around a student's needs. For some schools, that looks like 3 lessons a week for a small group. For others, it's daily one-on-one tutoring.
Holyoke Public Schools received both a PRISM Grant and specific funding for literacy tutoring. In a statement to NEPM, Executive Director of Academics Rebecca Thompson said they've been putting their focus on that early-age reading instruction to set their students up for the future.
"Our youngest students have experienced much success with high-dosage tutoring, and we welcome the opportunity to strengthen and expand our efforts," Thompson said. "Ultimately, this initiative could contribute to all HPS students having more significant and tailored opportunities to hit the crucial reading milestone of reading at grade level by third grade, which we know is a key predictor of future success."
That future success is what educators say is most important about early literacy. Fennelly explained that a student's reading skills will follow them as the move through the academic career, and as the enter the workforce.
"If you can't read, you're going to struggle in history and in science and in all your other classes, even in math. This is not just a subject in school. This is a life skill," she emphasized. "If you cannot read, you cannot function in in life."
