[Foundational Literacy Skills] Why Reading By the 3rd Grade Really Matters

Reflecting on our own formative years, we may not think about the 3rd grade as a milestone in life. Most of us can remember the names of our teachers, who our friends were, a funny story or two, but maybe not much else. But, when academics are concerned, the 3rd grade is one of the most important years in children’s education because it is a critical time for developing reading and literacy skills.

According to this report published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 3rd grade marks the time in children’s education where they transition from learning how to read, to understanding what it means to read to learn. In a nutshell, this means that 3rd graders are graduating from simply mastering the basics of phonics, vocabulary, and other building blocks of literacy to grasping how to read in order to process complex information, think critically, solve problems, and apply concepts they read about to real-world situations. Reading to learn allows students to take control over their own learning by using reading skills to gain more information on other subjects in school or their own interests outside of the classroom.

Reading to learn is a critical skill for students to master, as it lays the foundation for children’s academic and overall future success. Without adequate reading and literacy skills, students are less likely to understand what they are being taught at higher grade levels, more likely to struggle in other subjects, and even more likely to exhibit social anxieties or low self-esteem as a result.

It may seem hard to believe that reading skills in the 3rd grade could have such an enormous impact on the future of children’s academic careers and social success. Yet, one in six children (nearly 17 percent) who are not reading proficiently in 3rd grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater than that of proficient readers. There’s no denying that low reading proficiency in the 3rd grade has long-term negative effects on children’s futures. And what’s truly problematic is that millions of American children are entering the 4th grade without having attained the level of reading proficiency they need for continued academic success.

Insufficient reading skills expose students to the risk of a domino effect of academic struggles. Low reading proficiency inevitably makes grasping advanced academic concepts challenging and also impedes social development, leading to a higher likelihood of dropping out of school without a high school diploma. In turn, without a diploma, students could miss out on career prospects, access to certain higher education choices, or other opportunities.

In the U.S., pundits believe we are facing a literacy crisis as students struggle to meet foundational literacy benchmarks and continue to struggle with literacy throughout their academic careers. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly two thirds of U.S. students were unable to read at the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) proficient level. Since the 2019–20 school year when COVID-19 first began disrupting education, a study by the University of Virginia showed that about a third of children in the youngest grades are missing reading benchmarks, up significantly from before the pandemic. In fact, according to the 2021 study by Amplify, “The pandemic-related learning losses in early literacy are now disproportionately concentrated in the early elementary grades (K–2). In these three early grades, persistent learning losses have widened the national gaps in early reading skills between Black and Hispanic students and their white counterparts.”

The evidence is clear: developing proficient reading skills in all students by the 3rd grade is a must. What can educators do to ensure that students are developing the literacy skills that will put them on the path toward future academic, social, and career success? Here are several simple classroom strategies to try:

• Set aside 15–20 minutes of class time each day to devote to group or independent reading.
   
• Don’t forget about phonics! The science of reading tells us that a healthy dose of systematic, explicit phonics instruction helps build the foundation for successful reading and, ultimately, greater academic success across all subject areas. 
   
• Consistently emphasize the joy and discovery of reading by sharing your own love for it.
     
• Offer optional “reading logs” to help students track their reading outside of the classroom—and make sure that you have a way to reward their efforts and successes!
     
• Utilize literacy stations in the classroom to engage students in reading and build well-rounded skillsets.
     
• Create a comfortable, inviting classroom library.
     
• Talk to students’ parents about the importance of reading outside the classroom, and help them create literacy-rich environments in their homes.
     
• Monitor students (including older students) for reading deficiencies, and quickly provide necessary interventions.
   

The 3rd grade may seem like just another year in elementary school, but when it comes to literacy skills, it’s so much more than that. The 3rd grade is a turning point in the journey that all students embark on from learning to read to reading to learn. This transition is a keystone moment in children’s life-long learning abilities; educators and parents alike need take full advantage of this window of time to hone in on children’s literacy skills and build proficient readers.

Interested in learning more about Edmentum’s online resources to support literacy learning? Edmentum is proud to offer research-based online programs to support effective instructional practices for literacy. Exact Path provides adaptive diagnostic assessments and individualized learning paths aligned to state and national standards to meet all students exactly where they are in their literacy journey. Our dynamic, three-in-one literacy solution, Reading Eggs, Reading Eggspress, and Fast Phonics, is designed to build and reinforce foundational literacy skills through rich, interactive lessons and activities. Ready to learn more? Get a quote today!

This post was originally published in March 2017 and has been updated.