A Problem Still in Search of a Solution: A State Policy Roadmap for Improving Early Reading Proficiency PDF - A Problem Still in Search of a Solution: A State Policy Roadmap for Improving Early Reading Proficiency provides a framework to help state leaders and policymakers create more effective policies that will result in improved reading performance. ...

From the ECS State Policy Database: Reading/Literacy - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Third Grade Reading Policies PDF - This paper outlines state policies relating to 3rd-grade reading proficiency, including identification of, intervention for, and retention of struggling readers in the P-3 grades. The paper provides a state-by-state policy summary, sample statutory language, and highlights from bills enacted this year. (Stephanie Rose, ECS, August 2012) ...

2012 State of the State Addresses: Governors' Top Education Issues PDF - This analysis highlights the education issues prioritized by governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C. in their 2012 state of the state addresses. The state leaders explained that increasing the quality and availability of education, from preschool through postsecondary, was essential to recovering from the recession, spurring economic growth, remaining competitive, and to the health and well-being of each state's citizens. Top issues include Finance (K-12 & Postsecondary), Teaching Quality, Postsecondary Affordability/Access, School Choice, Workforce Development, Early Learning (P-3), and Reading and Literacy....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Reading/Literacy--Adult Literacy - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Adolescent Literacy PDF - Traditionally reading is taught in the primary grades. However, a growing awareness of the need to address the reading skills of adolescents has resulted in states incorporating literacy instruction in their secondary-level teacher preparation and certification requirements, modifying and aligning curriculum standards, and establishing state policies to guide change. (Melodye Bush, Education Commission of the States, September 2008)...

Adolescent Literacy - This database provides 50-state information on 13 approaches to address student literacy needs in grades 4-12. (Melodye Bush, Education Commission of the States, June 2008)...

Hawai'i P-3 Initiative: Findings from the First Year of the Evaluation - Recent efforts to improve K–12 educational outcomes have had mixed success. One possible reason is that many students entering kindergarten lack the basic skills to succeed in school. In 2007, with support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Hawai'i launched its P–3 initiative, the early childhood component of the state's P–20 work. This report of the first year of RAND's multiyear evaluation of the P–3 initiative examined plans, activities, and policy in two demonstration sites and at the P–20 level. (The RAND Corporation, June 2011)...

The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2009--National Assessment of Education Progress at Grades 4 and 8 - Since 2007, the nation's 8th-graders have made some improvements in reading comprehension while the overall results for 4th-graders were unchanged, according to results from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation's Report Card. (National Center for Education Statistics, March 2010)...

A Critical Mission: Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States - SREB sought advice of national literacy experts, surveyed its member states, and formed a committee of state leaders to study this issue and identify solutions. Among their interesting findings: many states lack the specific policies they need; none of the SREB states have tied specific reading skills to academic standards for each subject in high school. Recommendations are included in the report. (Southern Regional Education Board, 2009)...

From State Policy to Classroom Practice: Improving Literacy Instruction for All Students - A central theme of this issue brief from the National Association of State Boards of Education is that for state literacy policies and programs to be effective, they must lead to actual instructional changes in the classroom. The report includes five recommendations on how states can improve adolescent literacy, and action steps to accomplish those goals. (Mariana Haynes, National Association of State Boards of Education, April 2007)...

State Efforts to Promote Reading and Literary Activities in Communities - Rates of reading in the United States have been declining for at least two decades, with the steepest decline occurring among young adults. Fewer than half of adults read literature – poetry, plays, short stories or novels – in their leisure time. At the current rate of decline, literary reading will virtually disappear in the next half-century. Few would dispute the importance of reading for children yet the importance of literary reading in adulthood is not emphasized enough. This brief examines ways for states to promote reading and literary activities for families and adults, including reading of fiction or nonfiction for pleasure. (National Governors Association, February 2006)...