What would be possible if…
- We adopted shared, whole child, birth-to-age-eight measures that put children on a pathway to grade-level reading?
- We coordinated strategies to support children’s optimal development beginning at birth?
- We aligned policies and practices that were rooted in how children develop?
The Pathways to Grade-Level Reading (Pathways) initiative is all about possibility. This collaborative of diverse leaders is building on North Carolina’s history of innovation and success to reach for a bold vision:
All North Carolina children, regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, are reading on grade-level by the end of third grade, and all children with disabilities achieve expressive and receptive communication skills commensurate with their developmental ages, so that they have the greatest opportunity for life success.
Reading well in the early grades predicts a child’s academic and career success. Research shows that improving third grade reading takes a coordinated birth-through-age-eight approach with aligned policies and practices that focuses on:
- Children’s Health and Development, Beginning at Birth
- Supported and Supportive Families and Communities
- High-Quality Birth-through-Age-Eight Learning Environments, with Regular Attendance
Driving the Pathways initiative is the foundational belief that together we can realize greater outcomes for young children than any of us can produce on our own. Pathways Partners work across disciplines, sectors, systems, and the political aisle.
Together, Pathways created a data framework and a policy framework to help drive action in our state towards grade-level reading for every child. We continue our collaborative work with these tools as our guide and a focus on racial equity:
- Pathways Measures of Success Framework with more than 60 indicators visualized in the Pathways Data Dashboard.
- Pathways Action Framework with more than 40 prioritized Actions visualized in the Pathways Action Map–coming soon!
Pathways is an initiative of the NC Early Childhood Foundation in collaboration with NC Child, The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., and BEST NC.
Read a two-page summary of Pathways here.
Impact
- State leaders identified shared birth-to-age-eight, whole-child measures of success to put children on a pathway to grade-level reading.
- 95% of stakeholder respondents said they “felt confident that if the state made progress on these measures, we would improve third grade reading outcomes.”
- The NC General Assembly highlighted Pathways in the 2016 and 2017 budgets when it passed and updated provisions calling for greater birth-to-age-eight coordination across agencies and organizations, “including consideration of the NC Pathways to Grade-Level Reading.”
- Collaborative partner organizations have incorporated the Pathways measures into their own data tracking and reporting.
- Local communities across the state are using the Pathways Measures of Success Framework for collaborative community planning—identifying which of the Pathways shared measures to focus on locally and developing strategies for action to improve child and family outcomes.
- The NC Pathways Measures of Success Framework has been shared nationally and is being used by communities in other states as well who are focused on improving outcomes for young children.
- Hundreds of North Carolina leaders worked across sectors, geography, and the political aisle to co-create the NC Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Action Framework, which outlines expectations for the state’s child and family serving systems and actions to support children’s social-emotional health, ensure high quality birth-through-age-eight early learning environments, and create the conditions for every child to be in school every day.
- The Frameworks are informing the development of the state’s Early Childhood Action Plan, as well as serving as a foundation of other state-level early childhood initiatives like the Leandro Commission for Sound, Basic Education, the myFutureNC Commission, and the B-3rd Interagency Council.

What Should We Measure?
In Phase I of Pathways, a Data Action Team identified shared birth-through-age-eight, whole child measures that research has demonstrated can move the needle on third grade reading proficiency to create the Measures of Success Framework. Learn more.
Where Should We Focus?
In Phase II, Learning Teams looked at the NC data around those measures and, based on overall need and equity considerations, recommended a set of measures to move to action on first. Learn more.
What Should We Do?
In Phase III of Pathways, Design Teams co-created the Pathways Action Framework to help North Carolina align around policy, practice and capacity-building strategies that will shift the prioritized measures of success, particularly for children of color. Learn More.
Advancing Work
The NC Early Childhood Data Advisory Council met to hear early childhood data updates and discuss the path forward during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NC Early Childhood Data Advisory Council met to learn about state and national data projects, hear early childhood data updates, and report on the first two prioritized data development measures.
The NC Early Childhood Data Advisory Council met to hear early childhood data updates from DPI and DHHS and choose two data measures to work on developing.
The Pathways Data Dashboard is released. The interactive dashboard shares disaggregated data on more than 60 whole-child, birth-to-eight measures that matter for third grade reading proficiency.
The Child Development at Kindergarten Entry Data Workgroup and the Children's Social-Emotional Health Data Workgroup release their recommendations, which will inform Pathways and the NC Early Childhood Action Plan.
The NC Early Childhood Data Advisory Council met to learn and discuss early childhood data updates.
A case study sharing the three-year Pathways to Grade-Level Reading initiative’s process, the products that the stakeholders co-created, and the impacts of the initiative to date, is released. Bridging Sectors to Co-Create NC Pathways to Grade-Level Reading is a resource for local partners and other states who are interested in replicating the Pathways process to convene cross-sector stakeholders around the collaborative goal of improving third-grade reading proficiency.
Pathways Partners meet to review Pathways work in 2019 and look ahead to how we can collaborate to operationalize the Pathways Action Framework in 2020. Learn more.
The Children's Social-Emotional Health data workgroup is working on recommending a measure or portfolio of measures to capture young children's social-emotional health and development at the population level.
The NC Early Childhood Data Advisory Council meets for the second time to co-create an early childhood data development strategy for the state.
The Child Development at Kindergarten Entry Data Workgroup is working on recommending a measure or measures to capture children's development on entering kindergarten at the population level.
The NC Early Childhood Data Advisory Council is formed and meets for the first time. Members of the Data Advisory Council and the Child Development at Kindergarten Entry data workgroup participate in a joint racial equity training by CounterPart Consulting.
The Pathways Action Framework is released.
Pathways Partners meet to endorse the Pathways Action Framework and launch the implementation phase of the Pathways work. Learn more.
Design Team completes draft Pathways Action Framework.
Community Conversations Round 2. The fourteen communities meet again to offer input into which strategies to prioritize. Learn more.
NCECF releases Not About Me, Without Me, synthesizing the voices of more than 2,000 North Carolina parents and identifying themes around what helps and hinders them as they support their young children’s healthy development.
Community Conversations Round 1. Fourteen communities across the state hold meetings with local providers to provide input into the Pathways Design Teams’ areas of focus. Providers share what supports them and what gets in the way of their work to advance the success of children and families. Learn more.
Design Teams focused on children’s social-emotional health, high quality birth-through-age-eight care and education, and regular school attendance to co-create a Pathways Action Framework. The work uses an equity lens, with an explicit, but not exclusive, focus on racial equity. The process incorporates input from families, Design Team experts, local providers of services for children and families, and national research on what moves the needle in the areas of focus, particularly for children of color. Learn more.
Pathways Partners meet to confirm priorities and launch Design Teams. Design Teams are tasked with answering the question, What Should We Do? Learn more.
Learning Teams examine how NC is doing on the measures and recommend where to start. Pathways Partners help determine where there is momentum for action already in NC. Learn more.
Pathways Partners meet to finalize Measures of Success Framework and define Pathways’ theory of change. Learn more.
Data Action Team reviews research and develops Measures of Success Framework. Pathways Partners help define quality and data accessibility, and rank and comment on draft measures. Learn More.
Pathways Partners stakeholder group meets to launch Pathways Initiative. Learn More.
Pathways Endorsements
Is your agency, organization or business ready to endorse Pathways? Let us know!
Since 2015, hundreds of North Carolina leaders have worked across sectors, geography, and the political aisle to co-create shared Measures of Success and an Action Framework for North Carolina.
- The Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Measures of Success are research-based, whole-child, birth-through-age-eight measures that can help North Carolina determine if our young children are on the path to early literacy.
- The Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Action Framework provides North Carolina with a path forward on the areas Pathways stakeholders identified for action first—children’s social-emotional health, high quality early care and education, and regular school attendance.
Pathways Partners are endorsing the Frameworks. They recommend that the shared Measures of Success serve as the foundation for building North Carolina’s state and local birth-through-eight system and agree that the actions in the Action Framework, if well-implemented, can improve children’s third grade reading and well-being outcomes.
Click here to add your organization, agency or business to the list.
Featured Resources
Pathways Webinar
This 11-minute webinar provides an overview of the NC Pathways to Grade-Level Reading initiative.
Bridging Sectors to Co-Create Pathways to Grade-Level Reading
This case study shares the process, products and impact to date of the three-year Pathways to Grade-Level Reading initiative.
Research Basis for Pathways Measures of Success Framework
This resource provides data definitions of the Measures of Success and shares the research for each measure, demonstrating the connections between the measures and third-grade reading proficiency. A list of sources is included for each group of measures.
Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Action Framework
Hundreds of North Carolina leaders have worked across sectors, geography, and the political aisle to co-create a blueprint for North Carolina to improve a key developmental milestone for young children—reading on grade-level by the end of third grade. The NC Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Action framework outlines expectations for the state’s child and family serving systems and actions to support children’s social-emotional health, ensure high quality birth-through-age-eight early learning environments, and create the conditions for every child to be in school every day.