A Proven Fix for America’s Reading Crisis

America’s reading crisis isn’t news. But a legislative solution is—and it’s popping up in statehouses across the country.

That’s a welcome development, given what the data shows about America’s students. According to the latest edition of the Nation’s Report Card, only 31 percent of fourth graders scored at or above proficient in reading, down four percentage points from 2019. Or put another way, almost 70% of the fourth graders in America can’t read at grade level.  

The literacy malaise continues into high school. Reading scores for high schoolers have reached their lowest on record. It seems that each month brings a new test or assessment that highlights just how far our students have fallen behind.  

But there’s a bright spot among all these dark education headlines, and it’s coming from an unlikely place: Mississippi.

In 2011, the Magnolia State passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, which mandated research-based reading instruction and required third graders to demonstrate proficiency before advancing to fourth grade. It also provided intensive reading remediation provided by teachers with specialized training for those students required to repeat the third grade. That instruction was grounded in something called the Science of Reading—a body of research that explains how children’s brains learn to read. It’s primarily built around teaching phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

The results were remarkable. Mississippi’s fourth graders improved their reading scores by 10 points from 2011 to 2019—the largest gain of any state during any period. The state climbed from last place all the way to 21st in fourth-grade reading achievement. The New York Times called it the “Mississippi Miracle”—and other states took notice.

In the last few years, dozens of states have passed similar evidence-based reading reforms. In 2024 alone, 15 states adopted policies rooted in the Science of Reading. Georgia is one state now considering a similar reform this spring.

Research shows a clear link between education and poverty—the more education you have, the less likely you are to end up poor. There’s also a strong, undeniable connection between literacy and income—people who can’t read well earn significantly less over their lifetimes.

Policymakers and pundits often talk about how a job is often the ticket out of poverty, but they rarely connect the dots back further. Literacy is what gets you that job in the first place. It’s what prepares you for higher education and the workplace. You can’t climb the economic ladder without it. And yet, year after year, we send millions of children into that climb unprepared. 

That makes literacy reform especially urgent for students at the lower end of the income scale. Wealthier kids have parents with connections, social networks that open doors, and resources to fall back on if they stumble. Low-income kids don’t have that level of social capital. For them, the path out of poverty runs almost entirely through education—and that starts with learning how to read.

Research demonstrates the domino effect that illiteracy can set in motion. Students not reading proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. Not finishing high school breaks the first step of what researchers call the "success sequence"—graduating, working full-time, and marrying before having children. Among young adults who follow all three steps, 97 percent avoid poverty. Among those who miss all three, more than half end up poor.

Literacy is the first step for all students—but especially those from low-income backgrounds—on the path towards success and upward mobility. Mississippi figured that out. States that are still on the sidelines should take note.