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Early Warning:
Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters.
The new national 2010 KIDS COUNT Report focuses on how lack of reading proficiency by end of third grade jeopardizes America's economic and national security. Nationally, 68% of students at the end of Grade 3 in public schools scored below proficiency on the National Assessment of Educational Program (NAEP) reading test.
Massachusetts ranks best among all of U.S. states in the percentage of its students who by the end of 3rd Grade are proficient in reading on NAEP. However, Massachusetts' score belies two important facts: First, no state in the country achieved the standard set by NAEP, including Massachusetts. Second, while 44% of Massachusetts students met the national proficiency standard, 53% of the state's students did not. Therefore, despite the state's high national ranking, these scores are disappointing for all who see school success and high school graduation as beacons in the battle against intergenerational poverty.
 Click Here to read the full 2010 Kids Count Report,
Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters.
 Click Here to read the Press Release
Click Here to read the Fact Sheet
While Massachusetts has the 4th highest median family income in the country and many of its children thrive, it is also a state where many struggle. In its latest KIDS COUNT report, Child Poverty in Massachusetts: A Tale of Three Cities, MCC hones in on three cities where child poverty rates hover at 40%, well above the rates in Mississippi and Louisiana.
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Springfield, New Bedford and Lawrence comprise 19% or 32,000 of the 169,000 children who are poor in Massachusetts. The report outlines reasons poverty has persisted in these urban hubs and describes the historical dynamics that keep groups of immigrants, people of color, and single mothers persistently poor. The report highlights key programs in each city working to support children and their families. Finally, it describes emerging efforts in these communities to achieve child poverty reduction goals.
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