Demos

A National Goal To Help Every Child Succeed

READING BY GRADE THREE

Reading for Life Learning to read by third grade is a goal that can organize everything we do for kids.

I A2 Reading for Life

A5 Literacy Begins at Birth

A9 A Place for Play

A13 There’s No Such Thing as a Reading Test

A16 Lessons From New Jersey

A19 Missing Out on Reading

A21 Health Education

Illustrations by Peter & Maria Hoey

Children who do not learn to read proficiently by the end of third grade are unlikely ever to read at grade level.

High-quality pre-kindergarten programs can compensate for disparities in children’s home language environments.

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Literacy Begins at BirthAn agenda for early education can’t wait for kindergarten—the first five years matter, too.

An average child whose parents are on welfare has heard 32 million fewer words by age 4 than a child of professional parents.

To improve K-12, we must supply schools with children ready to learn, and that means early childhood education—not baby-sitting.

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A Place for PlayWhy reading programs must combine playful learning with direct instruction

Many educators stress that setting expectations for children and encouraging playful classrooms are not mutually exclusive.

Early-literacy instruction that focuses on basic reading skills can miss the playful, content- rich language experiences kids need.

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There’s No Such Thing as a Reading Test Real literacy involves learning about the world, not just letters and sounds.

Without the benefit of broad background knowledge, less advantaged students don’t have a chance at reading comprehension.

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Lessons From New Jersey Providing poor children with stable, high-quality preschool and kindergarten will make them higher performers.

Between 1999 and 2007, the percentage of preschool teachers holding bachelor’s degrees increased from 38 to 97 percent.

The Great Recession intervened to make the future of New Jersey’s generously funded early-literacy program uncertain.

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Missing Out on ReadingChildren can’t learn to read if they’re not in school— and chronic absenteeism is a problem we can fix.

Too often schools and parents fail to recognize the importance of good attendance in kindergarten and the primary grades.

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Health EducationGlasses and eye tests are just one of the ways in which the new health-reform law will help kids read.

Untreated vision problems can hinder early- literacy training and lead to learning problems for the rest of a child’s life.

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HELP ONE. SAVE MANY.See where the good goes at GoodGoes.org

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