Early Reading Proficiency in the United States

Reading proficiency remains unacceptably low [in the United States] in an economic environment that requires increasing levels of education and skills for family sustaining jobs.

By 2020, the United States is expected to face a shortage of 1.5 million workers with college degrees but will have a surplus of 6 million individuals without a high school diploma who are unemployed because they lack necessary educational credentials.

If we do not make sure all children gain the needed reading skills to be successful in school, their future educational and economic prospects will be dim, and our economy will lag.

A significant majority of states made gains in reading proficiency in the past decade, with the biggest gains occurring in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Rhode Island. Only four states—West Virginia, Michigan, Alaska and South Dakota—saw their rates get slightly worse.