Giving Compass' Take:

• Counties in California are promoting summer programs for early learners as part of an initiative to increase reading scores on standardized tests. 

• In 2013, third graders were not reading at grade level in San Mateo County. How will these summer programs specifically help address this issue and what are some underlying causes for such low reading scores? 

• Read about how donors can help foster literacy with the Giving Compass Guide. 

By implementing summer programs for students in early grades and high-quality preschool that focuses on preparing students for kindergarten, one California county is improving the reading skills of its young children.

The causes of the achievement gap are multifaceted and so the solution must be as well.

While San Mateo County has a significant number of residents with advanced degrees, 44 percent of 3rd-graders in the county were not reading at grade level, based on standardized test scores in 2012-13, said Diana Harlick of the San Mateo County Office of Education.

The startling statistics spurred community organizations and the county office of education to launch The Big Lift, a preschool-to-3rd- grade initiative with a mission to improve the reading skills of children in San Mateo County by 2020. The program was implemented in 2015.

The Big Lift focuses on various factors that can contribute to gaps in student performance and addresses them in intentional ways, such as parent workshops and increasing the number of slots in a preschool program, she said. Some Big Lift preschools have also expanded from part-day programs to full-day programs that serve children from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Read the full article on boosting reading skills by Ashley Hopkinson at EdSource