We know that policy change is crucial to ensuring that more children master reading by the end of third grade, and America’s governors are crucial to ensuring that change occurs. And we know that states have been taking the lead, with more than 30 putting a stake in the ground on early childhood development and literacy.

A report just issued by the National Governors Association the imperative for state leaders to take action and outlines some key steps they can take. A Governor’s Guide to Early Literacy: Getting all Students Reading by Third Grade spells out how literacy and language development before children get to school can influence their success in school. It also stresses the role of parents, caregivers and teachers. It then describes five policy steps that governors can take to ensure all children read at grade level by the end of third grade. These include:

• Adopt comprehensive language and literacy standards and curricula for early care and education programs from kindergarten through third grade
• Create the environment to increase access to high-quality child care, pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten
• Engage and support parents as partners in early language and literacy development
• Equip professionals providing care and education with the skills and knowledge to support early language and literacy development
• Develop mechanisms to promote continuous improvement and accountability.

“Now is the time to take a more comprehensive approach to language and literacy policy to achieve better results for all students,” said Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, said in a press release. “Over the past few years, many state policymakers have focused on increasing reading proficiency by third grade as a priority in their education reform agenda. Governors are instrumental in leading this charge.”