More than 48,000 fourth graders in the state were reading below the basic level in 2024.

Put another way: In the average Pennsylvania fourth grade class of 25, nine students can’t read at a basic level, testing results show.

It’s a problem that’s been getting worse.

In 2024, 38% of fourth graders in Pennsylvania scored below basic on reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. A decade ago, 26% of fourth graders scored below basic on assessments.

And to make matters worse, not many students catch up once they’ve fallen behind. Thirty-one percent of eighth graders in Pennsylvania tested below basic on reading in 2024.

A key provision in Senate Bill 315, the school code update passed with the new state budget, aims to tackle the problem by rolling out an aggressive new system of identifying young students who struggle to read and requiring schools to beef up their efforts to support those students, track their progress and report to parents and the state if the children aren’t catching up.

“By fourth grade, only about a third of Pennsylvania students are reading on grade level. That’s not because our kids can’t learn. It’s because we aren’t teaching them the right way.

Senate Bill 315 changes that,” state Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Allegheny, said ahead of the House vote on the bill Wednesday. “It requires schools to screen all K-3 students so we can catch reading struggles early before kids fall too far behind. It requires real communication with parents when a child is struggling and intervention plans that follow proven methods. And it gives schools and teachers the training and support they need to make this work.”

The legislation requires that by March 31, 2026, school districts must notify the Department of Education what reading instruction curriculum they have in place this year.

By the start of the 2028-29 school year, districts must adopt an evidence-based reading instruction curriculum and approve a professional development training program from a list developed by the Department of Education and demonstrate that their teachers are in the process of completing that training.

Beginning with the 2027-28 school year, schools must begin screening all students from kindergarten to

grade 3. Students who cannot demonstrate that they can read must be identified as having a reading deficiency and schools must keep that student flagged until assessments show the students’ reading skills have improved.

And beginning in 2028, school districts will begin having to submit annual reports to the state documenting the progress they’ve made helping students who are struggling to read.

The state’s $50.1 billion budget also includes a $10 million earmark to help districts support reading-deficient students.

But advocates say 10 times as much is needed.

“This budget is a meaningful down payment, ensuring educators are equipped with evidence-based training and materials that students need to thrive,” Rachael Garnick, manager of the Pennsylvania Literacy Coalition, said in a statement after the budget passage. “We know this is just the beginning. We estimate that a full statewide transition to evidence-based literacy instruction will require an investment of roughly $100 million. We look forward to working with Gov. Shapiro, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and legislative leaders to ensure thoughtful, proactive implementation and to secure the resources needed to finish the job.”

The literacy coalition and Teach Plus PA released an analysis earlier this year estimating that low literacy rates cost Pennsylvanians an estimated $113 billion a year in lost earning potential.

Part of that calculation was the estimate that adults who are proficient readers earn, on average, $13,193 a year more than those who read at a basic literacy level and $23,979 a year more than those who read at a below-basic level.