Connecticut Must Do More to Improve Students' Reading Proficiency, Advocates Say
Article
Connecticut Must Do More to Improve Students’ Reading Proficiency
by Crystal Elescano
CT Insider | October 22, 2025
As all school districts fully implement Connecticut’s “Right to Read” law this year, education leaders and advocates say literacy remains a persistent challenge, with reading proficiency among students still below pre-pandemic levels.
Before COVID-19, about 54% of the state’s third graders were proficient in English language arts, leaving roughly 17,000 students behind, according to the state Department of Education.
By 2023, proficiency dropped to 47%, with nearly 19,000 students not meeting grade-level expectations. The most recent data, for 2024–25, showed improvement, but not yet a full recovery.
The Right to Read law, signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in June 2021, established a statewide system to strengthen early literacy instruction.
By July 1, 2025, every district had to be using K–3 literacy programs based on the “science of reading,” an approach emphasizing phonics, syllable division and understanding letter sounds alone and in combination.
Melissa Hickey, director of literacy research and reading success at the Connecticut State Department of Education, said the state’s progress can be summed up in one word — “change.”
With 179 districts, including public and charter schools, shifting long-standing instructional practices takes time, persistence, and community support, she said.
“We need to continue family supports. We need to continue community supports. We need to continue to support our educators with this change for the benefit of all kids,” Hickey said during a panel discussion Monday in Hartford.
In the Hartford school district, where literacy challenges are pronounced, the district began exploring new reading curricula in 2019.
The Hartford schools' earlier approaches focused on what's known as guided reading -- students reading from a text with a teacher's guidance -- but they proved ineffective, said Amanda Kushner, assistant director of elementary teaching and learning for the Hartford district.
Since then, the district has prioritized phonics and phonemic awareness -- students identifying and manipulating the sounds in spoken words.
Kushner said the district has put a lot of effort into helping teacher internalize a reading program that was adopted last year.
"We’re continuing to support our teachers,” Kushner said. “Reading is critical to all learning.”
While policymakers work improving reading instruction, advocates say more must be done to ensure students aren’t left behind in the meantime.
Kareem Weaver, co-founder and executive director of FULCRUM Literacy, a national organization focused on improving literacy, said the "right to read" extends beyond classroom instruction.
He believes too many children have been denied the opportunity to excel because of systemic barriers, like how teacher contracts limit their preparation time. On average, teachers get just 45 minutes per day across all subjects, he said.
“They [students] need consistency; they need discipline; they need focus and structure,” Weaver said.
Weaver pointed to the case of Aleysha Ortiz, a University of Connecticut student and Hartford Public Schools graduate who sued the city after finishing high school without knowing how to read. Ortiz recently offered to settle her lawsuit for $3 million.
She told Weaver in an email that she tried to get help but never received the support she needed.
“Technology kind of saved her,” Weaver said. “Because of technology, she was able to do speech to text.”
Weaver said many students now rely on artificial intelligence tools and online translators when they don’t get enough support at school — which can cause them to disengage from learning.
He said schools must embrace a cultural shift, with educators taking responsibility when students struggle, rather than assuming it’s someone else’s job.
View the original article: CT Insider.
