Millions of middle and high school students lack the literacy skills--including reading, writing, and critical thinking--that they need to succeed in college and the workplace. According to "The Nation's Report Card" fewer than one third of eighth graders read at a proficient level. Policymakers have directed considerable resources toward improving the skills of the nation's youngest schoolchildren, and higher scores for fourth graders indicate that these investments are paying off. However, similar investments have not been made to support the literacy needs of students in the later grades; thus, academic gains are not being sustained through secondary schooling when students need instruction in advanced literacy skills necessary to succeed with more complex content. As a result, while fourth-grade proficiency rates on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) increased from 1998 through 2007, the percentage of eighth graders who scored at or above "proficient" declined. Unless the nation makes a consistent investment towards delivering comprehensive reading and writing instruction throughout the pre-K-12 grade span, millions of students will continue to leave school unprepared for college, work, and the many demands of adulthood. (Contains 23 endnotes.)