Early Literacy

Getting students reading at grade level is one of our state’s most urgent educational challenges.

Reading by third grade is a pivotal educational benchmark. Students who do not learn to read by third grade can’t read to learn and often struggle to access grade-level content in later years, making it significantly more difficult to succeed across all subject areas. The impacts of these gaps compound over time, placing increasing challenges on students, educators, school systems, and, eventually, employers.

In Massachusetts, we have struggled to make major gains in literacy and now see students at lower levels of proficiency than 10 years ago:

Photo: Ignite Reading

MBAE has been advocating for the state to take steps to address the literacy crisis and is pleased to report significant progress:

  • High Dosage Tutoring: As a result of efforts led by MBAE, school and district leaders, and teachers across the state, the state allocated $25 million in FY26 and $20 million in FY27 to provide this targeted intervention to more than 18,000 students from low-income communities who are struggling to read proficiently and are at risk of falling further behind. 
  • Landmark Legislation: MBAE also helped secure passage of the landmark Right to Read Act, legislation that overhauls how reading is taught in Massachusetts. The legislation requires all school districts to use proven, evidenced-based methods to teach reading.

State Policies: Steps Forward 

MBAE is calling on state leaders to:

  • Support districts in transitioning to evidence-based literacy instructional materials and curricula in alignment with new state requirements provided in the Right to Read Act.
  • Commit to an annual state investment for an early literacy high-dosage tutoring program for first grade students in communities with low-income rates over 50%.
  • Ensure implementation of the statewide tutoring program prioritizes funding for highest needs districts utilizing high-impact programs with proven outcomes.

Photo: Ignite Reading

A high-impact, high-dosage tutoring model in MA funded by the One8 Foundation for two school years targeted skills that “crack the code” of reading. In SY2023–24, 2,200 students in 46 schools across 13 districts participated in the program. In SY2024–25, 2,599 students in 49 schools across 13 districts were enrolled. 

To be eligible for One8 Foundation grant funding, districts had to be using well rated curriculum for K–2 ELA instruction or in a curriculum adoption process and had to have provided curriculum-specific professional learning to all K–2 teachers. Tutoring funds were provided for first-grade seats, drawing on evidence that this is where literacy tutoring is most effective 

The program provided one-to-one virtual tutoring for 15 minutes every day during the school day from the same, highly trained tutor. It targeted first graders who have not mastered Kindergarten reading skills and therefore have gaps in their learning. If these gaps are left unaddressed, these students cannot access first grade curricula and will likely fall further behind over the course of the school year and beyond. 

An evaluation from the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University of the 2024–25 school year found that:

  • Participating students gained an additional 5.4 months of learning beyond typical national growth, with consistent benefits across student subgroups. These results reinforce Johns Hopkins’ earlier evaluation from the 2023–24 school year, underscoring the reliability and effectiveness of the model.
  • 85 percent of students who exited first grade at grade-level proficiency after participating in the program stayed at or above grade level by the end of second grade.

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