The Baltimore Campaign for Grade Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofits and public organizations working to increase literacy scores for Baltimore City third graders by 100% by 2020. Our aim is to close the gap in reading achievement that separates many low-income students from their peers; raise the bar for reading proficiency so that all students are assessed by world-class standards; and ensure that all children, including and especially children from low-income families, have an equitable opportunity to meet those higher standards.

 

THE CHALLENGE

We know that children who are successful readers by the end of third grade are much more likely to succeed in school than those who are not: they are less likely to repeat a grade, more likely to graduate from high school, and more likely to attend college (Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters. The Annie E. Casey Foundation).

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Baltimore Campaign for Grade Level Reading is a collaborative group of funders, nonprofit, and public organizations engaged in shared learning, setting priorities for action, and planning for the larger Campaign. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is leading a national Campaign for Grade Level Reading, which is a collaborative effort by dozens of funders across the nation.

THE FRAMEWORK

The Campaign’s goal is to improve education outcomes for children in Baltimore by advancing strategies to ensure that they are successful readers by the end of third grade. Student progress toward this goal will be measured by Baltimore City Public Schools’ 4th grade reading scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA).