Strong Foundations in Literacy: The movement to ensure every child in Massachusetts learns to read
By the end of third grade, the role of reading in a child’s education begins to change dramatically. In the early years, students work to master the mechanics of reading—sounding out words, building fluency, making meaning. But as students age, reading becomes the gateway to learning in every subject. For students who have not yet reached proficiency, this transition can be a breaking point. Lessons in science, history, and even math assume students have proficient reading skills and without that foundation, new concepts are harder to access and learn. The effects can be exponential, leading to academic and social and emotional challenges. Students who are unable to read by third grade are four times less likely to graduate from high school.
Only 42 percent of Massachusetts third graders are proficient in reading. That number has been falling since the pandemic, but even prepandemic rates were concerning: only 56 percent of third graders were reading proficiently in 2019.
The National Institutes of Health estimates that 95 percent of children can learn to read when provided with the right conditions. Research shows switching to high-quality instructional materials and providing sustained professional learning that equips educators to deliver evidence-based instruction have a substantial positive impact on literacy rates.
“This is both urgent and solvable,” Rennie Center Director of Policy Alexis Lian said at a recent hearing on Beacon Hill. “Literacy is foundational. In a world of competing educational priorities, it can feel difficult to decide what should take precedence. But here, the evidence is clear: high-quality literacy instruction underpins nearly every other area of education.”
Lian was providing research to help inform legislators around S.338, An Act promoting high-quality comprehensive literacy instruction in all Massachusetts schools. This bill—along with House version H.698—is currently under consideration by lawmakers and would require school districts to align their curriculum with evidence-based literacy instruction.
The bill is just one part of a statewide push to improve literacy. Our team is proud to be involved in a number of the Commonwealth’s initiatives that are already moving the needle for our youngest learners.
For the past five years, we’ve been working with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on the Growing Literacy Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) initiative. Through GLEAM, we supported nearly 30 Massachusetts school districts in implementing equity-driven and sustainable improvements in literacy programming. The results were compelling: districts reported substantial positive impacts for the combined 25,000 students served. Over the course of five years, the number of preschool students on track for kindergarten in these districts increased by 28 percentage points. The number of K-5 students not at risk for reading failure increased by 17 percentage points. And the number of high school students not requiring intervention increased by 13 percentage points.
"GLEAM had a significant and direct impact on students across Massachusetts. The success of this initiative shows how a multi-tiered system of support for literacy can strengthen high-quality instruction and create lasting, equity-driven improvements for all learners,” said Chau Ngo, Rennie Center Senior Associate, who supported districts through the GLEAM initiative.
Building on the foundation laid by GLEAM, our team helped launch the Literacy Launch Institutes to provide educators with professional learning opportunities around literacy in the early grades. A core component of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s strategic investment in literacy, the Institutes offer free training for educators focused on preschool through third grade reading and writing. Our team is working with HILL for Literacy and RMC to design and implement these statewide professional learning institutes and follow up with targeted support for educators on effectively implementing evidence-based practices. The first two Literacy Launch Institutes were held in August, offering four full days of training to 600 educators. The opening day of the program featured remarks from Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, DESE Commissioner Pedro Martinez, and Rennie Center Executive Director Dr. Chad d’Entremont.
"The inaugural Literacy Launch Institutes were an incredible success. Four days filled with energy, collaboration, and deep engagement from educators across the state,” said Rennie Center Chief of Staff Elle Jansen, who led Rennie’s work on the Literacy Launch Institutes. “These Institutes are more than a single event—they are the start of a movement to ensure every child in Massachusetts has the strong foundation in literacy they deserve.”
In addition to professional development, access to high-quality instructional materials that include an explicit focus on foundational literacy skills is crucial. Research tells us that switching from lower- to higher-quality curricular materials is comparable to over half a year of additional learning and greater than the difference between a new teacher and one with three years of experience. But understanding which curriculum will best serve a classroom or school can be a challenge for educators and school leaders.
That’s why we’ve been partnering with DESE on the Curriculum Ratings by Teachers (CURATE) Project since 2018. Through this initiative, we convene panels of Massachusetts teachers to review and rate the quality and alignment of specific core curricular materials. In their review of materials, CURATE panelists pay particular attention to Massachusetts-specific standards and content priorities; support for all students, particularly those from historically underserved groups and communities; and usability for teachers. The results are shared through publicly available reports on DESE’s website to help inform local decision-making. So far, CURATE panels have produced more than 70 reports on curriculum, including more than 20 for ELA/Literacy.
The starting point to improve literacy in Massachusetts is straightforward: ensure schools have access to high-quality curricular materials focused on literacy and provide educators with the learning opportunities they need to deliver evidence-based reading instruction. The movement toward doing this is growing, with significant investment and support from state leaders. Our team is honored to be a part of it.
“These efforts are planting the seeds for systemic change and working to ensure that every student learns to read—not by chance, but by design,” said Jansen.