Ohio kids need help now to improve reading
Just as the pandemic is moving into the rearview mirror, we are reminded that some of its impacts will linger, potentially for years to come.
Unfortunately, Ohio’s youngest schoolchildren appear to be some of the worst affected.
A recent report from the Ohio Department of Education found that third graders in our state experienced a 22% reduction in reading proficiency during the pandemic, from 67% in the 2018-19 school year to 51.9% in 2020-21.
Given how critical this age is to developing lifelong reading ability, such a significant drop in this short amount of time should set off loud, glaring alarms among educators and parents statewide—as well as our state’s leaders.
Just how important is third grade reading ability to a child’s long-term success?
If a student cannot read proficiently by this time, they are four times more likely than other students to not graduate from high school.
Unless we take this situation seriously and quickly address it, Ohio risks falling behind those states that do have the will to act. I worry, however, that this problem is not getting the full attention it so badly needs.
Take, for example, proposals being considered at the Statehouse about whether race, gender or sex can be discussed in Ohio’s schools. It’s consuming too much time and energy and is highly divisive.
Something we should all be able to agree on, however, is that Ohio’s children need to be able to read. When we see them falling behind in this fundamental skill, we should, despite the current severely fractured state of our society, be able to put other issues aside and come together to support them.
Misordering priorities right now could leave lasting damage for our children and our state. Today’s thirdgraders are tomorrow’s workforce.
The reading problems they have today, if left unaddressed, will keep them from reaching their full potential and fully contributing to the workforce upon which our state’s economic strength depends.
Ohio’s future competitiveness risks being undermined before today’s students even reach the age to join the workforce, however. Prohibitions on discussing certain topics in school risk undermining our appreciation for the intrinsic value of robust intellectual debate.
It’s inseparable from the spirit of innovation, courage and discovery that was in some of the greatest Ohioans, like the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Toni Morrison, Neil Armstrong, and others.
Ohio’s future is in how much Ohioans know, and our businesses thrive when Ohioans have skills and knowledge greater than those of their competitors in other states or around the world. And an essential skill for the acquisition of knowledge in the modern world is the ability to read.
Regardless of which side we are on in today’s political debates, can’t we agree that reading is important?
Can’t we still come together to make sure our children can read and that they receive extra support when they fall behind?
We couldn’t do much about the pandemic, but we can do something about how we care for and support the most vulnerable among us who have been hurt by it.
Let’s refocus our priorities and help Ohio’s children catch up academically from the pandemic and move forward at the needed pace in developing essential reading skills. Then they can grow up to be Ohioans who can care for themselves and their families, contribute to our state’s long tradition of innovation and discovery—and think for themselves.
Lisa Gray is president of Ohio Excels, a coalition of business leaders committed to high-quality education for all Ohioans.