Most of our kids can't read. And it's a big problem.
This year's "Nation's Report Card" showed something alarming: 69% of our 4th graders cannot read proficiently; for 8th graders, that number rises to 70%.
That's not just a school problem. It's a future problem—for our kids, economy, and public safety.
National surveys show that parents have been in the dark about this crisis and didn’t know how much they didn’t know.
In Texas, one group is seeing the same issues up close. According to state test scores in Fort Worth, with more than 170,000 students, only 43% are reading at grade level. In some parts of the city, it's far worse. And 96% of parents believe their children can read at grade level.
Experiences at the local level reflect what’s happening nationally: There’s a serious disconnect between what parents believe their kids are being taught and what they are actually learning.
But there's a movement growing to turn all this around. It's through an organization called At Grade Level, starting with a simple request from parents. Find out if your child or teen can read proficiently or at all.
Here’s the simple first step: Have your child read out loud to you tonight.
That's it. No apps. No tests. Nothing complicated. You can do it at home. Ask your child or teen to read aloud to you. You might be surprised by what you hear—or don't hear.
The campaign from At Grade Level is called "It's Their Story" because reading out loud can uncover struggles that might be hidden. Too many parents see report cards come home with As and Bs, but the frightening reading scores prove that those grades don't equate to literacy. Reading aloud can be the first step toward identifying a critical issue that must be fixed.
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"Find out for yourself at home tonight," says the narrator in a video that launched the 'It's Their Story' campaign. "Hand your child a book and ask them to read out loud to you. That's right, it's that simple."
Parents concerned about their children's proficiency are encouraged to alarm their teachers and schools because the stakes are very high. A parent in the know can make a difference.
Difficulty with reading is directly linked to serious problems later in life. Law enforcement officials in Texas report that about 80 percent of state inmates are functionally illiterate, as is a similar percentage of juveniles involved in the criminal justice system. High school dropouts are also five times more likely to be arrested than non-dropouts.
"When children struggle to read, they struggle in school. When they struggle in school, they drop out. And when they drop out, they're more likely to wind up down the street in the jail," said Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells.
"These statistics paint a stark, tragic picture of our present situation, but that doesn't have to be our future," said Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes. "Many of the people incarcerated right now are there, in part, because of that lack of proper literacy levels that they did not receive when they were young."
This isn't just about education anymore. It's about safety, opportunity, and the future of our cities.
And these officials know that it's not just a coincidence.
"When it comes to literacy levels, criminal behavior, and ultimately public safety, a lack of literacy skills has moved past correlation and firmly now points to causation," said Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez.
Widespread illiteracy has a massive effect on any community.
"It affects public safety, public health, and economic development," said Fort Worth City Councilor Macy Hill. "We cannot attract new companies to come to the city of Fort Worth, and we cannot attract jobs that pay well if our students can't read."
If our schools can't produce adults who can hold down good jobs in one American city, how will the United States compete on the world stage?
The short answer is that it won't unless dramatic improvement is made soon.
If you have school-aged kids, K-12, ask them to read to you tonight. It's their story to tell, and it could save them and everyone else a lot of misery.
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