We asked each of our five founding partners to write a guest post describing how they support our goal of improving third grade reading rates. On the eve of the Building a Grad Nation Summit, Tanya Tucker, Vice President, Alliance Engagement for America’s Promise Alliance, describes the important connection between third grade reading and high school graduation.

 Did you know that a child’s literacy level in third grade can predict her likelihood of graduating from high school nine years later?

Seems unbelievable, but it’s true. In fact, literacy proficiency is one of the leading predictors of academic success later in life. According to Double Jeopardy, a 2012 Annie E. Casey Foundation report, 16 percent of students who are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate that is four times higher than students who are reading proficiently in third grade. And for kids who are not proficient and who are also living in chronic poverty, the proportion not graduating jumps to a devastating 35 percent.

What’s more , a recent KIDS COUNT data report shows that while reading proficiency levels have somewhat improved over the last decade, the gap in proficiency rates between high-income and low-income children has widened to 20 percentage points, and the gap separating black and Latino kids from their white and Asian peers remain steady, at around 30 percentage points. This is unacceptable.

It’s clear to America’s Promise that in order to make our nation a “GradNation,”where at least 90 percent of our young people are graduating from high school on time and prepared for what’s next, it is absolutely crucial that we invest in improving reading proficiency rates – and that we start early.

We’re so proud to be working with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in their efforts to educate and activate communities across the country on behalf of this vital issue. Communities like Chula Vista, Cal., which partners with both the Campaign and with America’s Promise, and has made raising its reading proficiency and high school graduation rates a top priority. Thanks for all you do!

For more information on America’s Promise, visit www.americaspromise.org.