Massachusetts 3rd graders falling short of early literacy benchmarks
READING IS THE foundation of all learning, and literacy the touchstone for academic success. While reading is essential at all grade levels, third grade is a student’s most pivotal year – the one where students transition from learning to read to reading to learn.
Tragically, less than half of Massachusetts third graders read proficiently. Even more alarmingly, on the 2022 English language arts MCAS assessment, a mere 15 percent of students with disabilities, 11 percent of English learners, 26 percent of students from low-income households, 23 percent of Latino students, and 28 percent of Black students met or exceeded grade level expectations.