When students start third grade, they begin to transition from learning to read, to reading to learn – and those who end up below their grade level in literacy seldom catch up during the remainder of their schooling, according to EdVoice Institute, an education advocacy nonprofit.
Alarmingly, the data shows that six out of 10 kids in California can’t read by the third grade.
Maria Nieto knows all too well the mounting worries that accompany having a child who is struggling with literacy. Her 9-year-old daughter, Angie, falls squarely into that dire demographic – the third-grader is currently reading and writing at a kindergarten level, and both mother and daughter find themselves feeling increasingly lost and overwhelmed.
“It’s so frustrating for her and for me, too,” Nieto told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol. Nieto lives in Panorama City with her husband and their four children, ages 4 through 14.
Angie often avoids tackling schoolwork – not because she doesn’t want to do it, but because she finds it too difficult – which keeps any progress at a standstill or makes her fall further behind. And her low literacy skills are negatively impacting her in other subjects, too, making most of her classwork more challenging – “even with math involving word problems,” explained Nieto.
An active, hands-on parent, Nieto tries her best to support all of her kids. She participates in “Our Voice-Nuestra Voz,” a bilingual advocacy group for parents and education leaders, and shares her questions and concerns with teachers and administrators at her daughter’s school – Alta California Elementary School in Panorama City. She discusses everything from Angie’s IEP (Individualized Education Plan) due to a speech delay, to her continuing challenges with literacy.
“I think whenever they see me now, they probably think, ‘Oh, here she comes again,’” said Nieto. “They always tell me the same things: ‘You can help your child be successful academically by making sure they eat well and sleep well, [help them with] their homework and have a healthy home environment for them.’ But I already do all of those things every day.”
Unfortunately, Nieto and her husband – who are immigrants from Mexico – speak very little English, hindering their ability to help with schoolwork. Nieto encourages her daughter to do her schoolwork every day, but she often relies on translation apps to try to help her and she’s unsure about their accuracy. She sometimes asks her 14-year-old son for help, but, she noted, “He has his own homework to do; I don’t want him falling behind, too.”
“I don’t speak the language [English], so how can I help my daughter learn to read and understand her vocabulary words? And how can I know if the schoolwork she’s doing is all correct?” she continued in Spanish. “Obviously, it’s a clash of cultures – and that makes an already challenging situation even worse.”
New Bill to Target Literacy
Nieto and her daughter are not alone. Only three in 10 third-graders in California from disadvantaged families are at grade level in English Language Arts (ELA). Among low-income English learners, Black students and kids with disabilities, the statistics are even worse – with only two in 10 third-graders achieving grade level.
Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) hopes to reduce those figures with the aid of newly unveiled legislation to help raise awareness about illiteracy and implement an “evidence-based” approach to teaching all elementary school students in California how to read.
“As an educator, I have firsthand knowledge of the struggles instructors face to ensure their students know how to read,” said Rubio, who was a teacher for 16 years. “However, California is failing its students, especially diverse students from low-income families. … AB [Assembly Bill] 2222 will set up both our students and our educators for success.”
The literacy bill – AB 2222 – is centered around four main priorities: ensuring access to “science of reading” curriculum; continuing professional development and training for current teachers; adequate preparation and credentialing for teacher candidates; and monitoring student progress and conducting interventions for struggling readers.
The cornerstone of the bill – which could start being implemented by mid-2025 – is the “science of reading,” which utilizes evidence drawn from interdisciplinary research to develop effective classroom practices that benefit all students, including English learners. The curriculum would incorporate phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, oral language development and phonological and phonemic awareness.
“If there is one primary responsibility of public elementary schools, it is to teach children to read so they may have a future filled with opportunity,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice. “We now know how to best teach children to read … [utilizing] the ‘science of reading.’ It’s time we require this evidence-based approach to early literacy instruction in every California classroom.”
Risks of Illiteracy
The adult illiteracy rate in California is 28% – the second highest in the country, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Megan Potente, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia CA, said the path to reducing adult illiteracy and its potential perils – from reduced earning potential to higher unemployment rates – is effective early literacy instruction and intervention.
Nieto agrees. She said she hopes they find more effective ways of helping struggling students.
“Just like other areas that keep changing and evolving – like in technology and science – I think educators can try adopting new methods to help our children learn to read and write,” she said.
Although Nieto believes the “foundation of education begins at home,” she emphasized that she and many other parents like herself don’t have the benefit of a college education or years of experience as teachers. She believes that professional educators should know the best methods for motivating and educating students, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses.
“It’s more complicated for us as parents, because we don’t have the necessary tools or the same level of knowledge,” she explained. And even though Nieto is doing everything she can to help her daughter by asking all the right questions, her daughter is still falling through the cracks.
Nieto said she hopes the new legislation will help flip the switch for kids struggling to get through the school day by providing the right combination of increased attention and support, along with teachers receiving additional training.
“Our children deserve exceptional teachers who really care about them,” she said. Unfortunately, for kids like Angie – who is more than halfway through elementary school and still woefully behind her classmates – the future remains unclear. “I always worry.”
AB 2222 will head to the Assembly Education Committee this spring. To learn more about the legislation, go to: edvoice.org/news/for-immediate-release-edvoice-sponsors-early-literacy-legislation-ab-2222.
To express support for the bill by signing a petition, go to: