Only 33% of Children Are Proficient Readers – We Spoke Up!
We were deeply honored to have Luminous Minds Founder, Chandra Roughton, invited to testify on September 3, 2025, before the United States Congress House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
The hearing – “Foundations First: Reclaiming Reading and Math through Proven Instruction” – centered on a question that touches every family, every classroom, every future: How do we ensure children are truly learning to read and reason?
In her testimony, Chandra spoke to the urgency of evidence-based instruction, the power of structured literacy, and the necessity of collective action to shift outcomes for students nationwide. Today, only 33% of fourth graders in the United States read at or above proficiency. In simple terms, two out of every three children are not proficient readers.
Literacy is the bedrock upon which opportunity is built. When children learn to read well, doors open—academically, economically, and civically.
This moment before Congress was not about spotlight—it was about responsibility. About naming what works. About acting with intention. About placing children first.
