SACRAMENTO – (INT) - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is announcing a new plan to improve literacy rates of California students.

Specifically, Thurmond intends to launch a statewide literacy campaign that will help all third grade California students to be able to read by the year 2026.

According to the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment for Literacy/English Language Arts, 51 percent of California students met or exceeded grade-level standards. When looking at student groups, the percentage dropped to 39 percent for economically disadvantaged students, 41 percent for Latino students, and 33 percent for Black students.

“Once a student learns to read, a student can read to learn anything,” said Thurmond.

Thurmond’s plan for increasing literacy will center on legislation that will fund professional learning for educators, the establishment of a task force to oversee and guide a statewide literacy campaign, and efforts to get more books into the hands of students and their families to help them develop a love for reading.

Story Date: September 28, 2021