Giving Compass' Take:

• Cassie Taylor and Pranav Trewn share effective methods for increasing literacy among children based on behavioral science. 

• How can funders help to efficiently scale up these proven methods? 

• Learn more about fostering literacy. 

Strong reading skills are absolutely fundamental for children to succeed, both in school and later in life. Yet a majority of students in the United States are unable to read proficiently by the end of grade school.

We’re applying our expertise and leveraging our track record of innovation to this problem with Every Child Reads, our behaviorally-informed family literacy program developed in partnership with Stand for Children, a national nonprofit dedicated to student success. Each of the core components of Every Child Reads was designed to address a common behavioral barrier preventing parental involvement in building strong reading routines with their children:

  • First, we made book access easy. Each family in this phase of Every Child Reads gets a tablet pre-loaded with myON, a digital library packed with thousands of titles. myON recommends “just right” books based on children’s interests and reading level, and it provides helpful supports like audio read aloud and an in-app dictionary tool.
  • Second, we added reading goals. Each month, families set a goal for how many times per week they want to read together. Parents and children set these goals together, building ownership and accountability.
  • Finally, personalized support. Since myON tracks reading activity, we’re able to provide families with direct feedback on goal progress through interactive text messages.

Read the full article about Every Child Reads by Cassie Taylor and Pranav Trewn at ideas42.