reading matters: the importance of learning to read by the end of third grade

Reading Matters:The Importance of Learning to Readby the End of Third Grade

Investing in the Future: Our Children

Helen Danielson- Network Liaison North Dakota KIDS COUNT

North Dakota KIDS COUNT - 2010

Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters:

A 2010 KIDS COUNT Special Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Through Your Eyes


What percent of North Dakota 4th graders score below proficiency level in reading?

What percent of North Dakota 4th graders from low-income families score below proficiency level in reading?

What percent of children 0-17 live in poverty?

In North Dakota…


What We Know Cost to Society Reading Proficiency Levels in North Dakota National Comparison Low-Income Disparity Factors to Consider Learning to Read – Reading to Learn ABC’s for early learning Responsibility

Overview


Good readers become our Problem solvers Innovators Business leaders The backbone of our national security

And it begins at birth…

What We Know


Three quarters (75%) of students who are poor readers in third grade will remain poor readers in high school.

Increase in behavioral and social problems

Long term consequences◦ High school dropouts◦ Less individual earning potential◦ Less productivity◦ Less competiveness in our global economy

Cost to Society


In 2007, nearly 6.2 million young people (16% of the 16-24 age group) were high school dropouts.

Every dropout costs our society an estimated $260,000 in lost earnings, taxes, and productivity.

The process of dropping out begins long before a child gets to high school.

Cost to Society


Current Reading Proficiency Levels in North Dakota


65%35%

4th Grade

BelowAbove

65% of 4th grade public school students in North Dakota scored below proficient reading level in 2009.

Compare to:◦ 68% in the United States◦ A low of 53% in Massachusetts◦ A high of 82% in Louisiana

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Reading Assessment.

National Comparison


78% of North Dakota 4th graders from lower-income families score below proficiency level in reading.

Low-income disparity


Disparities in development outcomes “emerge in infancy and widen in toddlerhood. By the time children from families with low-income enter kindergarten, they are typically 12-14 months below national norms in language and pre-reading skills.”-The Council of Chief State School Officers

In 2000, 14 percent of North Dakota children ages 0 to 17 lived in poverty* (22,163 children). Current 2008 data indicate that the child poverty rate is still at 14 percent.

* Poverty refers to a condition in which one is unable to afford basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education,clothing, and shelter. In 2009, a four-person family earning $21,947 or less was considered impoverished.

Children Living in Poverty


American Indian reservations in North Dakota are most affected by high rates of child poverty. ◦ In Sioux County, which includes part of the

Standing Rock Reservation, one out of every two children ages 0 to 17 was impoverished in 2008 - the 6th highest child poverty rate in the nation.

Children Living in Poverty


Higher incidence of health problems Receive less care Lack interactions to develop language Social-emotional skills are lacking Less opportunity for high-quality early

childhood preparation Inappropriate assessments – mismatched to

children’s ages, developmental stages, culture or languages

Factors to consider


Instability - home, neighborhood, school School districts lack resources to meet

needs Disconnect between schools and parents Low expectations Chronic absence from school Children lose ground during the summer

months Teachers may be inexperienced

Factors to consider


Early Care and Education opportunities for children

◦ About half (49%) of North Dakota children ages 3-5 are not enrolled in nursery school, preschool, or kindergarten.

Parent Education and Involvement

Learning to Read


In North Dakota, we celebrate children’s births. But…do we wait to see if they succeed in school before we pay attention to their strengths and needs?

Did you know?

The number of births in North Dakota increased an average of 2 percent per year from 2001 through 2008, rising to 8,931.

Education begins at birth


“The brain is an environmental organ: its health and development are strongly shaped by the stimulation and interaction children receive, particularly during ages 0-5, a critical period of growth and learning.”-J. Clinton, 2007


Examples: Home Visitation Head Start Right Start Even Start Healthy Families Parent Resource Centers Gearing Up for Kindergarten United Way Imagination Libraries - Born

Learning – Success by Six

Parent Education in North Dakota


National research suggests: 32% of kids have some problems entering

kindergarten 16% have difficult entries into kindergarten

In North Dakota, nearly 47,000 children between ages 0 and 5 are preparing for their entry into school and needing to gain knowledge and skills for success.

Gearing Up for Kindergarten


A Place for Play - develop children’s critical social-emotional and self-regulatory skills.

LEARN together – “I don’t know…but we can look it up together.”

Build good attendance habits in the early grades

It’s more than reading scores


“We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”

-George Bernard Shaw

NDEA is a leader in addressing North Dakota Dropout Prevention – 2nd Summit in 2010

Life skills, skills for college

◦ Governors and state commissioners of education have committed to developing a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics. State standards will define the knowledge and skills students should have in K-12 education to graduate and be able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and workforce training programs.

North Dakota Dropout Prevention


Composite ACT test scores for 2009 North Dakota public high school graduates averaged 21.5 (out of 36), slightly higher than the national average of 21.1.

However, only 1 in 4 were ready for college-level courses.

See North Dakota State Data Center June 2010 Population Bulletin for more information: www.ndsu.edu/sdc/publications/population/PB_26_6press.pdf

North Dakota Graduates


A is for ASSIST. Help children prepare for entry into school through high-quality early care and education experiences. About half (49%) of North Dakota children ages 3-5 are not enrolled in nursery school, preschool or kindergarten, compared to 39% nationally.

Strategies for better readers:


B is for BOOKS. Read to a child and cultivate a joy of learning. Some North Dakota children ages 1-5 (9%) are read to by family members less than 3 days a week. Young children whose parents read to them, tell stories, or sing songs tend to develop larger vocabularies.

Strategies for better readers:


C is for Create. Create language-rich summer learning opportunities. Children experience a decline in reading comprehension over the summer months. This reading comprehension loss is larger for lower-income children.

Strategies for better readers…


Parents Policy makers Child advocates Educators Neighbors Libraries Early childhood caregivers Community program organizers

We are all responsible


There’s a large tent of people coming together – building a system

No single response offers a total solution

Together we can do better


www.ndkidscount.org


reading matters: the importance of learning to read by the end of third grade

Documents

societynorth dakota

eyesnorth dakota kids

knownorth dakota kids

reading assessment

proficient reading level

percent of children

child care reading matters

prereading skills