The governor recently signed legislation directing the state to address dyslexia through teacher training and early, perhaps more accurate, detection. In their promo-piece the AJC dropped this nugget:
That only a third score proficient or better means that two thirds fall into whatever self-esteem-boosting category the educrats have crafted to carry the meaning "illiterate." You could put the little buggers in the school auditorium and tell them "look to the left; look to the right; only ONE of you is literate." And yet 99% of the parents are certain that their darling is not only IN the literate third but very likely at the top.
We're also fed the notion that 'round 'bout fourth grade reading becomes "essential for learning." Really? Words are cheap but actions, those are what we should examine. What are our rather expensive public schools doing to address this failure of two thirds of those under their care? Are they being retained until they achieve proficiency as one would expect in a meritocracy where advancement is earned through achievement? Does remediation start in fifth grade and continue all the way through college? No, not at all. What happens is what has happened in K-4: they are passed along to become the next grade's, the next teachers', the next schools' problems.
And dyslexia legislation? That is just a way to further bloat administrations, to bolster the financials of colleges of education and pump out more teachers who just don't have the time to master subject matter. Hell, they may not even be able to read.
'Only a third score "proficient" or better on reading tests by fourth grade, when the skill becomes essential for learning.'This is a vein rich in mineable material.
That only a third score proficient or better means that two thirds fall into whatever self-esteem-boosting category the educrats have crafted to carry the meaning "illiterate." You could put the little buggers in the school auditorium and tell them "look to the left; look to the right; only ONE of you is literate." And yet 99% of the parents are certain that their darling is not only IN the literate third but very likely at the top.
We're also fed the notion that 'round 'bout fourth grade reading becomes "essential for learning." Really? Words are cheap but actions, those are what we should examine. What are our rather expensive public schools doing to address this failure of two thirds of those under their care? Are they being retained until they achieve proficiency as one would expect in a meritocracy where advancement is earned through achievement? Does remediation start in fifth grade and continue all the way through college? No, not at all. What happens is what has happened in K-4: they are passed along to become the next grade's, the next teachers', the next schools' problems.
And dyslexia legislation? That is just a way to further bloat administrations, to bolster the financials of colleges of education and pump out more teachers who just don't have the time to master subject matter. Hell, they may not even be able to read.
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