MassPotential: ‘A civil rights issue’: Why Massachusetts needs a new literacy law
The state that pioneered public education should be a national leader when it comes to the most basic academic skill: reading. But instead, as over 40 states across the country have implemented literacy laws to require more rigorous reading instruction, Massachusetts failed to pass one last year, leaving many students in classrooms that used low-quality methods instead.
The Legislature has a chance to redeem itself this year, with a new literacy bill on the table to mandate high-quality reading curricula. And it couldn’t come any sooner.
English scores are dropping across every demographic, with barely 4 in 10 third-graders proficient on the English MCAS in 2024. Scores are especially dismal among students of color and low-income students. Nationally, Massachusetts is on track to converge with Mississippi’s English scores by 2028, according to the Mass Reads Coalition.
Read more via The Boston Globe >> https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/01/opinion/literacy-law-massachusetts-reading/