The 2024–2025 Reading SOL data shows 56.64% of Virginia’s third graders passed with proficiency. That is progress, but still leaves 43% unable to read on grade level. This is a challenge that will define the future of our students, our schools, and our Commonwealth. We must do more.
Virginia is in the first year of implementing the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA). Teachers are transforming instruction aligned with the science of reading, but lasting change takes time, resources, and sustained investment. The VLA is working, but it is just beginning. Fully funding and sustaining these efforts is the only way to ensure every child can read.
Other states – Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee – show the results of long-term commitment: more children reading by third grade. Virginia must follow their lead.
Virginia’s literacy strategy is already strong. The Virginia Language and Literacy Screener System (VALLSS) identifies skills and challenges from preschool through eighth grade. The VLA strengthens instruction, putting children on track to read by third grade while supporting those who struggle. Together, these tools build a system to catch difficulties early and ensure no student is left behind. At the same time, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library fosters a culture of books and reading at home, where families play a vital role in sparking a lifelong love of reading.
These efforts are moving Virginia in the right direction, but only consistent, full investment will make them succeed.
The path is clear: our children, families, teachers and schools deserve a lasting commitment to the VLA, funded year after year. Literacy gains don’t come from a single session – they come from sustained focus and investment. Virginia’s children, and their families, deserve nothing less.