ST. GEORGE, Utah — When looking at the statewide audit for how Utah students are underperforming, one glaring gap is the reading ability of third graders.
A KUER report showed that only 48.1% of the students in the third grade are able to meet reading standards for their grade level.
"The state has this intense goal of getting students, 70% of third-grade students, reading grade level by 2027," said KUER reporter Martha Harris.
The numbers show a lot of work needs to be done to make that happen. Education officials told Harris that they’re looking at solutions, with the biggest being to make sure there is a unified plan to attack the problem.
"I heard a lot of people talk about making sure that administrators are supporting teachers and working with them and holding them accountable," Harris shared. "I think that's a big thing that people say is missing right now in trying to reach that goal."
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It also might take some out-of-the-box thinking, or as Taylor Swift might say, fearless thinking.
"We thought it would be a really cool connection to have the kids make Taylor Swift bracelets," explained Gerald Wright Elementary teacher Buddie Nielsen.
In Nielsen's kindergarten class at the West Valley City school, students have a bracelet with their name to go along with their sixth-grade buddy who has a bracelet with letters. Every week, the grades meet and practice all the letters.
Another solution lies outside the school.
"There also needs to be community and family engagement in order to get this," explained Harris.
That includes the world of business
"We believe and we have found that educated citizens drive the economy," said St. George Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Shawn Christiansen.
The chamber believes Utahns need to lead reading efforts at home.
"If you have books in your home, it increases the likelihood you're going to read them. If you read to your children, it increases the likelihood that they'll learn to read on their own, and then they'll also develop a passion for that reading," Christiansen said.
Not all the news is bad. Harris said that for perspective, Utah’s third-grade reading scores are among the top eight in the nation, where overall, third-grade reading proficiency is at 33 percent.
