How Poverty & Third Grade Reading Skills Influence High School Graduation
A study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave without a diploma than proficient readers.
The report–Double Jeopardy: How Poverty & Third Grade Reading Skills Influence High School Graduation–for the first time breaks down the likelihood of graduation by different reading skill levels and poverty experiences.
Among the findings, poor children who struggle with reading in third grade have better outcomes if they don’t live in high-poverty neighborhoods. Roughly 80% who live in affluent areas and 77% who live in middle class communities finish high school by age 19.
