research-backed

From regular student assessment to contracting for independent studies, Reading Partners systematically collects, analyzes, and uses data to generate knowledge, improve programs, and report on impacts.

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science of reading

The established and growing research we have about how students learn to read, including systemic phonics education.

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individualized

A facet of high-dosage tutoring in which a tutor offers one-on-one attention to their student, resulting in targeted support, and personalized literacy learning.

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high-dosage

The frequency of a learning experience. For example, Reading Partners students receive twice weekly tutoring for maximum growth.

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educational equity

Ensuring every student, no matter their race, gender, socioeconomic level, or location has access to the resources and support they need to succeed in school and in life.

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The importance of literacy

Literacy is the foundation for learning across subjects. With strong literacy skills, students have the tools they need to excel in school and access higher learning institutions to further their education and career options.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 32 percent of our nation’s fourth graders can read proficiently, on average. Students in marginalized communities are disproportionally impacted by a lack of literacy support and resources, resulting in only 19 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch, 17 percent of Black students, and 21 percent of Hispanic students being able to read proficiently by the fourth grade (as reported by 2022 NAEP results). These numbers have decreased since 2019 due to learning loss caused by pandemic-related school closures. Once students start to fall behind in reading, they tend to fall faster and further behind their peers with each year.

Reading Partners works with schools and communities to empower students through literacy skill building. Our evidence-based curriculum, delivered by volunteers from the community, has been found to have positive and statistically significant impact on three different measures of student reading proficiency: reading comprehension, fluency, and sight-word reading.

Literacy facts

For years, the percentage of the nation’s fourth graders in public school who can read proficiently has hovered at around 35 percent. Children who can read proficiently by the fourth grade are four times more likely to graduate from high school on time—improving their chances to live a happy, healthy, productive life.

For students experiencing poverty, the situation is even more dire: 82 percent of students eligible for free or reduced lunches are not reading at or above proficient levels by fourth grade.

The Literacy Project Foundation found that three out of five people incarcerated in prisons can’t read and that 85 percent of minors who have been charged with a crime have trouble reading. Such literacy disparities are linked with high recidivism rates— education being one of the surest ways to reduce the rate of becoming re-incarcerated.

Nearly 9 million kids affected

Nationally, more than 8.7 million kindergarten through fifth grade students from economically disadvantaged communities are not proficient in reading — the equivalent of the entire populations of Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Atlanta. Students who receive effective interventions by second grade are more likely to become strong, proficient readers.