MarylandTransforms-StrategicPlanGuidebook - Flipbook - Page 33
MARYLAND TRANSFORMS - STRATEGIC PLAN 33
PRIORITY
GOALS & METRICS
All Maryland students are proficient in reading by the
Increase in percentage of grade 3 students scoring at
end of third grade, and those who are not have the
or above Proficient on the Grade 3 English Language
necessary supports to become proficient.
Arts (ELA) assessment.
SNAPSHOT OF ENGAGEMENT
49%
SELECTED READING &
WRITING IN THE EARLY
GRADES AS THEIR TOP
PRIORITY
When polled, 49% of survey respondents selected Reading & Writing in the Early
Grades as their top priority.
This priority remains at the top of the list when comparing results by stakeholder
group and by region. That is also the case when we break down the results by
race/ethnicity, with the only exception of Asian respondents, for whom this priority
is the second most frequently selected, very closely after math and science skills.
“If all U.S. adults were able to move up (literacy proficiency levels), it would
generate an additional $2.2 trillion in annual income for the country, equal to
10% of the gross domestic product.”2
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 54% of U.S. adults 16 to 74 years old - about 130 million people - lack
proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. This is an alarming number for several reasons, and
its implications are enormous because research has shown that literacy is correlated with several important outcomes:
PERSONAL
EMPLOYMENT
ECONOMIC
HEALTH
INCOME
LEVELS
GROWTH
Rothwell, J. (2020, September). Assessing the Economic Gains of Eradicating Illiteracy Nationally and Regionally in the United States.
2