by Lilly Mains 25’

Maryland is poised to join more than 25 states that require third graders to demonstrate proficiency in reading and writing skills to advance to the fourth grade. Third graders who are not deemed as on track for reading at a fourth-grade level will be held back one year.

This is a part of Maryland’s aggressive new goals to boost literacy and student achievement for the state. Maryland ranks 40th for National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) achievement and is aiming to raise their ranking to the top 10 by 2027. According to Maryland’s Department of Education, students in grades K-three would be screened three times throughout the year to identify those who need supplemental reading instruction, at which point students who are struggling would receive extra attention including before and after school tutoring from reading specialists in an effort to help them improve skills such as reading comprehension, phonics and vocabulary.

To better prepare teachers to handle the change, the policy would call for professional development which will be free for the staff as part of the ‘science of reading’ program. The U.S. The Department of Education has allocated $149 million to improve literacy programs across 23 states, and Maryland received a grant of 40.3 million dollars over the next five years from this allocation to help fund literacy proficiency initiatives for young students.