As Oregon’s Legislative Session Closes, Advocates Make a Final Plea to Fund Early Reading Reform

As the Oregon legislature enters the final weeks of its current session, Stand for Children is hoping lawmakers will seriously consider the need for an additional $300 million in funding to improve reading proficiency in elementary schools.

Stand for Children backed Measure 98 in 2016 and now hopes to repeat that success by encouraging lawmakers to allocate additional funds to improve the reading averages of Oregon grade school children.

Measure 98, also known as the “High School Success” measure, is an initiative to escalate high school graduation rates and improve college and career readiness by providing targeted funding to school districts.

Previous Legislation Helped Improve High School Graduation Rates from 60% to 81.3%

When it was passed by lawmakers, Oregon’s high school graduation rate of 60% was among the lowest in the country. This situation has seen a dramatic turnaround with a graduation rate of 81.3% by 2023.

The non-profit advocacy group believes that with the correct financial impetus, Oregon children can be taught to become proficient readers by fourth grade.

Stand for Children points to Mississippi as an example of what can be achieved with sufficient funding.

That state has moved from rock bottom of national rankings in reading proficiency to the top by encouraging intensive tutoring, updating teacher coaching, and introducing summer school initiatives.

Stand for Children believes that students must achieve reading proficiency by third grade, as reading is no longer taught as a distinct subject beyond that point, making it increasingly difficult for struggling readers to keep up academically.