A Reflection on the Nation’s Report Card
The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading results confirm that learning loss attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, declines in student attendance, and the complexities of policy and practice continue to impact reading outcomes for students, as we learned yesterday that overall reading scores declined further. No state saw statistically significant gains in fourth grade or eighth grade reading from 2022 to 2024, which comes on the heels of a 2022 historic drop in reading performance.
Amidst this disheartening news, we are all asking ourselves, what can be done? Many will look to Science of Reading (SOR) policies as a solution, though these policies are in their nascency in many states, and it is unknown what direct impact they may have had on the current scores. Most states with SOR policies include robust teacher training in SOR, funding for literacy efforts, and parent read-at-home programs, including the tried-and-true books for home ownership that has been cornerstone to Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) mission since 1966.
For RIF, we are doubling down on our research-backed approach to building a nation of lifelong readers. While yesterday’s news was deeply disappointing, we dare to dream of reading joy. For RIF, a true passion for reading is essential to our work, and we believe it is a necessary piece to achieve improved reading outcomes for students. We define reading joy as increased reading motivation, frequency, and engagement. All three of these components have research supporting their influence on increased reading achievement. RIF’s solutions drive reading joy throughout the spectrum of a child’s development, from birth through eighth grade.
As the nation reacts to yesterday’s NAEP reading scores, we are optimistic there is a path forward to tackle the reading crisis in America:
Begin Reading Joy Early (Birth to PreK Intervention)
We believe that reading joy needs to start at birth and we foster this through our new play-based early childhood program. Read for Success Early Childhood utilizes developmentally appropriate, research-backed strategies to create a strong foundation for young children to grow in their reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Starting children on their journey to literacy early on with comprehensive support from families and educators leads to future success.
Provide Choice, Access, and Engagement (Elementary Intervention)
As fourth grade reading proficiency scores continue to sink lower from 33% in 2022 to only 31% in 2024, NAEP has started to address out-of-school barriers that impact educational attainment. This past year, NAEP announced that the number of books present in a student’s home would be considered a core component of their Socioeconomic Status Index because decades of research has indicated that book access is directly related to children’s educational opportunities. Books for Ownership, RIF’s flagship reading program for grades K-5, enables children to select new, age-appropriate books to take home and own and is supported by resources for families, educators, and local literacy advocates to create a culture of reading.
Don’t Lose Them Along the Way (Middle Grades Intervention)
Unfortunately, research demonstrates that reading motivation and engagement decline in middle school grades. In fact this year, we saw the largest ever percentage of middle school students reading below basic in the NAEP results. This particularly impacts students from urban schools and NAEP data confirms that 8th grade students in urban schools experienced a 2-point loss from 2022. RIF’s unique middle school program meets the needs of this critical group of students by continuing to provide opportunities for choice, access, and engagement including culturally relevant books, family resources, and educator professional development. We are particularly energized by the preliminary findings from our 3-year pilot program study, which demonstrate statistically significant positive increases in middle school students’ motivation to read.
Paving a Way Forward
With our strong commitment to literacy for all children, RIF is optimistically looking ahead and moving forward to pave a way through these obstacles by increasing book access and student reading engagement. While there may be a long journey on the road to reading recovery in the United States, we must tackle this issue and we are ready to dig in, working with the educators, families, public and private partners, and volunteers that are part of our RIF community and share in our mission until every child reads.