Arizona's Reading Crisis
Arizona has a problem – a BIG one.
Currently only 4 in 10 Arizona students can read on grade level….4 in 10! That means 60% of our students cannot read on grade level.
To add insult to injury, we are ranked 45th in the country on how well our children are reading.
Why is this important? A child who cannot read on grade level is four times more likely to drop out of high school. That is hard on that student and their family, but it is also hard on our state.
It impacts the individual
- Thirty-four percent of job applicants lack the literacy skills needed to do the job they seek. – The American Management Association
- Twenty percent of Americans read below the level needed to earn a living wage. – National Institute for Literacy
- High school dropouts earn 48% less than those with a high school education. – National Center for Education Statistics
- On average, adults at the lowest level of literacy are 10 times more likely to live below the poverty line. – National Adult Literacy Survey
It impacts our state & economy
- High school dropouts earn 48% less than those with a high school education, contributing less to the tax base and society. – National Center for Education Statistics
- Two-thirds of students who cannot read by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. – US Department of Justice
We can and must do better.
We may be proud to be state 48, but that’s not where we want to be ranked in education! It is our responsibility as the adults to make sure our children don’t fail. We have been complicit for too long and now is the time to act.
Here’s the plan. There are solutions that are research-backed and proven to help solve our problem. We know that if we work together, have some political courage, and prioritize our children, we can make big progress on our reading problem in Arizona.