Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages
A CALL TO ACTION:
The State of Early Literacy in New York
Reading, the ability to make meaning from print, is an essential component of literacy, with implications for employment, poverty reduction, public safety, and health outcomes. From an education standpoint, reading proficiently by the end of third grade is the most important indicator of future student success, with students not reading proficiently by the end of 3rd grade being four times more likely to drop out of school. This rate doubles for Black and Latinx students living in poverty.
Yet too many New York students are denied the right to read, especially students of color and those from low-income backgrounds. And despite recent student outcome data and the impact of pandemic-related school closures on reading skills, state and local leaders have yet to boldly address the issue with urgency.
Key Findings
Our findings, highlighted in this report, revealed the following:
State leadership, including the New York State Department of Education, the Board of Regents, the Governor’s Office, and the Legislature, have not centered early literacy, the science of reading or the reading crisis in their priorities or initiatives.
The State of Early Literacy in Monroe County
Rochester and Monroe County are rightly proud of being the home of Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist, social reformer, writer, and statesman. Douglass taught himself and countless others to read and write while still enslaved, famously stating, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Douglass sincerely believed literacy was the key to liberty and equality for Black people in America.
Now, 125 years after Douglass’ death, too many students in Monroe County are not being taught to read—placing their future and Douglass’s vision at risk. Illiteracy is a crisis that Monroe County cannot afford to ignore any longer.
“Teaching students how to read is a fundamental human right and one of the most important equity and social justice issues facing our state and nation.”

What is the Science of Reading?
Research in the science of reading has shown that teaching phonics explicitly and systematically is a critical foundational skill for most children to become proficient readers. However, as noted by the National Reading Panel, the science of reading is more than just phonics and includes instruction in vocabulary, comprehension, and knowledge building, among other topics.
Another way to understand the science of reading is through The Simple View of Reading, which has been empirically validated by over 150 scientific studies.Learning to read requires sounding out and recognizing words (decoding) and making meaning of the words and sentences that are heard (language comprehension). If either of these skills are weak, then reading comprehension is diminished.
Decoding
Ability to apply sound-symbol relationships to read words
Language Comprehension
Ability to understand spoken language
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Additional Reading and Resources
Minding the Gap by Natalie Wexler identifies struggles with reading curricula in the U.S. and what states can do to boost student literacy.
Interested in our early literacy work? Contact us.
This project is made possible thanks in part to the generous support of the Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund in partnership with Overdeck Family Foundation and Siegel Family Endowment