Colorado’s landmark 2012 reading law led schools around the state to spend more time helping struggling readers, an external evaluation found. But the report leaves some key questions unanswered, including a specific accounting of how hundreds of millions of state dollars for struggling readers were spent and which interventions actually worked. State officials said the […]
READ Act
Posted inEducation, News
Colorado’s rules on reading curriculum apply to Aurora, but that was news to district officials
Some Aurora schools will have to switch to a new reading curriculum to comply with a state law requiring science-backed reading materials — even though district leaders initially denied that they would have to change. About one-third of the district’s elementary and K-8 schools use a program that has been soundly rejected by state reviewers. […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado State Board calls for tougher rules teacher training rules on reading instruction
Hoping to push up Colorado’s persistently low reading scores, the State Board of Education on Wednesday opted for tougher rules around teacher training on reading instruction. In calling for higher standards, the board lined up with advocates for students with dyslexia, despite objections from groups representing teachers, district administrators, and rural educators. The new rules will govern […]
Posted inEducation, News
Colorado wants to ensure teachers know how to teach reading. But some say proposed rules lack teeth and transparency.
Colorado passed a law last year intended to ensure that every teacher who works with early elementary children has training on the best ways to teach reading. But as the State Board of Education considers what types of training qualify, some advocates fear the rules are too vague and don’t spell out how reading courses […]
Posted inEducation, News
Colorado has spent hundreds of millions to help kids read. Now, it will spend up to $5.2 million to find out why it hasn’t worked.
Colorado’s education department will spend up to $5.2 million over six years on a consultant charged with determining why the state’s 2012 landmark reading law failed to produce significant gains for struggling readers. The unusual external audit, to be conducted by the nonprofit WestEd, will dig into how the state’s schools are using about $40 […]
Posted inEducation, News
How a Colorado public school for students with dyslexia is changing the game for struggling readers — and the state conversation on reading
Tammy Kennington and the four children in her cozy therapy room prepared to sound out the word “April.” “Divide before your first medial consonant. Accent the first syllable,” Kennington said, her fourth graders quietly echoing her words. “A vowel in an open-accented syllable is long. Code it with a macron,” they said. “A vowel in […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers seek overhaul for troubled $231 million program meant to help kids catch up on reading
State lawmakers on Monday introduced bipartisan legislation that would overhaul a statewide program that has failed to improve the reading deficiencies of young students despite costing the state more than $231 million over the past five years. Senate Bill 199 would add significant state oversight into how schools throughout Colorado teach kindergarten through third grade […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Children need to READ and it is their right: The READ Act Challenge
Schools know how to teach children to read, right? Every child learns to read, right? Well, “No,” according to recent data collected as a required component of the Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act. The READ Act was passed by the Colorado legislature in 2012 amid high acclaim and bipartisan support. The law […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado education officials failed state by botching $231 million reading-improvement program, whistleblower lawsuit claimed
Colorado education officials botched a reading-improvement program that cost the state $231 million over the past six years by caving in to political pressure from local school districts, a whistleblower lawsuit contended. Testimony in the case mirrors current criticism as reform of the Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act rises to the top of […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado spent $231 million to help young children catch up on reading. But rates of kids with significant deficiencies only worsened.
Colorado spent $231.37 million in the past five years trying to help young children who lag behind their peers to read at their grade level, but the rate of students in danger of never becoming proficient only has worsened during that time. Now Colorado’s top education officials and state legislators say the lack of gains […]