COMMENTARY: Read by 3 vital to helping Nevada kids succeed

If Nevada wants to be a land of opportunity boosted by a strong economy for its diverse residents, policymakers should support critical education initiatives. That includes the Read by 3 law and Gov. Steve Sisolak’s request to support the program with additional funding.

Being able to read is fundamental to lifelong success and we know Nevada’s Read by 3 law is showing promise for thousands of students already. The stakes are high. Children who are not reading proficiently in third grade are four times more likely to drop out or fail to graduate from high school, according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. And for lower-income black and Hispanic students, that likelihood doubles.

As policymakers in Carson City consider revising the law, they should examine how similar laws are helping students succeed in other states. Florida was the first state to pass a comprehensive, strategic and universal early literacy law that inspired Nevada’s Read by 3. Florida went from one of the worst performing states to being ranked fourth in the nation for overall performance in fourth-grade reading on the Nation’s Report Card.

A key to that success is a commitment to difficult decisions, including retaining children in third grade when they are not prepared for the rigors of fourth grade. Nevada policymakers need to know that students in Florida who were retained in third grade performed better in the long-run after they were given additional time and attention. The gains were even higher among traditionally disadvantaged groups.

A similar success story comes from Mississippi, where leaders passed their early literacy law in 2013. Just like in Nevada, Mississippi’s law implemented retention as an intense and focused intervention, giving students more time with a highly effective teacher and providing specialized support to help students become successful readers.

The most recent data from the Nation’s Report Card show that in fourth-grade reading, Mississippi has increased student proficiency by approximately 6 percentage points since the policy was enacted. In that same time frame, the percent of students reading below basic competency decreased by nearly 7 percentage points. Mississippi is now second in the nation for improvements in fourth-grade reading.

We need to maintain a strong commitment to help Nevada’s students rise to become the best in the nation. Based on experience in other states, Nevada policymakers should stay the course and let Read by 3 be fully implemented. If we don’t ensure all Nevada students can read by the end of third grade, then when?

Tom Greene is senior regional legislative director of ExcelinEd in Action.