Efforts to address Oklahoma’s literacy crisis gained further momentum this week as officials with the State Chamber called for adoption of a Mississippi -style reading law requiring early intervention for struggling readers and a mandate that children repeat the third grade if they cannot meet basic literacy standards.

According to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, only 23 percent of Oklahoma fourth-grade students were proficient or advanced in reading in 2024, ranking 49th nationally.

Mississippi ranks ninth.

The business community understands you cannot have robust economic growth if much of your workforce struggles to read.

Oklahoma was on the path to the same top-ten status as Mississippi, but pushback from status-quo forces in education derailed t

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