LITERACY

According to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) Reading Report, 70% of 4th grade students in Tennessee scored below proficiency in reading; this percentage has increased since the last report in 2019, when 65% scored below proficiency.

Further analysis revealed that 83% of students receiving free/reduced lunch status scored below proficiency, evidencing a significant performance gap among low-income students. Research suggests that 74% of poor readers in the third grade will still be poor readers in the ninth grade (Francis et al., 1996). Furthermore, 3rd graders who don't read at grade level are four times more likely to drop out of high school. Without focused and strategic intervention, struggling readers are positioned for a host of negative outcomes later in life that create a cost not only to individuals and families, but to society at large. 

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PTM has a proven track record of increasing literacy rates through the provision of systematic, evidence-based small-group reading instruction across its afterschool program sites. During the 2022-2023 school year, 48% of PTM’s 3rd grade students demonstrated increased percentile ranks in overall literacy at year end (DIBELS composite score), meaning they improved at a rate faster than their peers. 

Students receive systematic reading instruction in small groups with a trained reading specialist for 60-80 minutes each week during the school year. The reading programs are based on research-based practices for quality and effective instruction as recommended by the National Reading Panel and a wealth of empirical research.


Beginning and low readers work on phonemic awareness, letter/sound identification, sight words, and decoding while more advanced readers work on oral reading fluency, sight words, and reading comprehension. 

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