Last month’s national assessment of fourth-grade reading — the first since children’s lives and schooling were disrupted by the pandemic — revealed the largest decline in reading performance in 30 years. Given the troubling reality that only one-third of students were proficient in reading by fourth grade before the pandemic, and even lower percentages for low-income children and students of color, the nation can ill afford COVID-induced backsliding. The need for immediate, effective action has never been more urgent.

Read the Full Op-ed