‘That’s Not Good Enough’: Pillen Takes Aim at Declining Literacy As Legislature Debates Issue
by John Gage
OMAHA – Governor Jim Pillen called for state senators to push forward legislation to address early childhood literacy, saying the state’s reading proficiency numbers were “concerning.”
“Reading is a building block that shapes the rest of a kid’s education. Right now, only 28% of Nebraska fourth graders are reading at or above the proficient level,” Pillen said Thursday. “That’s not good enough.”
“Those numbers tell us something important: the status quo isn’t working, and we have to do more to help struggling readers catch up,” he added.
Pillen’s comments come as the Legislature debates LB1050, a bill introduced by Education Chair Dave Murman.
“Change is needed, and it’s needed quickly,” Murman said Thursday during debate over the measure. He noted that the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows only 28% of Nebraska fourth graders meet a proficient level of reading.
Murman said the declining literacy scores were concerning to him. “Is this current path working? Should we be satisfied with being fortieth in the nation?”
The bill would replicate efforts made in Mississippi to improve early childhood literacy by allowing schools to hold back children who struggled to read. Since passing the measure, Mississippi has gone from 49th in fourth-grade reading comprehension in 2013 to ninth by 2024.
State Senator Danielle Conrad said Thursday during debate over the bill that she had a “significant amount of concern over the proposal,” but it was a “starting place for dialogue and discussion about how to achieve those [literacy] goals.”
Conrad said she was worried that the bill did not provide enough flexibility for kids who could not hit all the reading “metrics.” She provided the example of her child, who she said has high reading comprehension but reads slowly.
Pillen said the bill will result in some kids being held back, but that the measure will set up Nebraska students for success in the long-run.
“Does this mean a small number of students might not be promoted to fourth grade if they’re not ready readers?” Pillen said in a recent Omaha World-Herald op-ed. “Yes. And as a parent and grandparent, I don’t want students to feel embarrassed or discouraged. And the purpose of this policy isn’t punitive. It works alongside other literacy reforms Nebraska recently has adopted and the ones we’re poised to adopt this year to create a framework for success for our students and families.”
— John Gage is the Executive Editor of The Plains Sentinel.
