Read to Achieve law needs tweaking, but concept right
Published May 7, 2014
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, May 6, 2014.
It may not be as much fun as other summer camps, but the new mandatory summer program for third-graders who are not reading at grade level may prove to be one of the most important experiences of their young lives.
In Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools, officials predict that as many as 2,000 – about half of the district’s 4,000 third-graders - may be required to attend summer reading camp under the new Read to Achieve state education law, the Journal’s Arika Herron reported recently. That prediction is based on last year’s end-of-grade test results in which fewer than half of all third-graders passed. Officials see the same pattern in the current class of third-graders.
That so many third-graders cannot read at grade level is discouraging. We think the new law is an important initiative for improving the educational outcomes – and ultimately, the happiness and prosperity – of many students with reading difficulties.
That said, when state legislators return to Raleigh this month they should seek input from educators and put some serious tweaks on the law. Several critics, in saying the program was flawed in its implementation, make a good case. (See the guest column from Janna Robertson and Pamela Grundy on the opposite page.)
But the program’s concept is right.
It’s well-known that students who fail to learn to read with proficiency in elementary school continue to fall behind their peers and many end up dropping out of high school. It’s time we stopped students from going down this path.
The Read to Achieve law provides several ways for third-graders to be promoted to fourth grade. Those who pass the end-of-grade reading exam will be promoted. Those who do not pass the exam will be allowed to take a Read to Achieve assessment that can determine reading and comprehension using a less-intimidating format. If the student fails the assessment, he or she must attend summer reading camp or be required to repeat the third grade, unless he or she qualifies for an exemption, such as having less than two years of exposure to English.
The camp runs for six weeks with instruction all day. At the end of the program, students will have another chance to pass the Read to Achieve assessment and move on to fourth grade. Those who fail will be placed in a transitional fourth-grade class with extra emphasis on reading. After the first semester, they will get yet another chance to pass the test.
The program sounds rigorous, and rigorous is what we need to improve the poor level of reading skill among so many of our students. Read to Achieve, if legislators give it the proper tweaking, will also help identify students with learning disabilities, which can be managed with strategies that can improve reading skills.
Perhaps most important, but sadly missing for some children, is parental involvement. Parents, read to your young child every day. It may change their life.
