COVID-19   Law    Advocacy    Topics A-Z     Training    Wrights' Blog   Wrightslaw Store    Yellow Pages for Kids 

 Home > Doing Your Homework > What Are the Criteria for Remedial Reading Programs?


The Special Ed Advocate newsletter
It's Unique ... and Free!

Enter your email address below:

2024
Training Programs

Apr. 11 - Denver, CO

June 5-8 - San Antonio, TX

Sept. 24 - MD via ZOOM

Full Schedule


Wrightslaw

Home
Topics from A-Z
Free Newsletter
Seminars & Training
Yellow Pages for Kids
Press Room
FAQs
Sitemap

Books & Training

Wrightslaw Storesecure store lock
  Advocate's Store
  Student Bookstore
  Exam Copies
Training Center
Mail & Fax Orders

Advocacy Library

Articles
Cool Tools
Doing Your Homework
Ask the Advocate
FAQs
Newsletter Archives
Short Course Series
Success Stories
Tips

Law Library

Articles
Caselaw
Fed Court Complaints
IDEA 2004
McKinney-Vento Homeless
FERPA
Section 504

Topics

Advocacy
ADD/ADHD
Allergy/Anaphylaxis
American Indian
Assistive Technology
Autism Spectrum
Behavior & Discipline
Bullying
College/Continuing Ed
Damages
Discrimination
Due Process
Early Intervention
  (Part C)

Eligibility
Episodic, such as
   Allergies, Asthma,
   Diabetes, Epilepsy, etc

ESSA
ESY
Evaluations
FAPE
Flyers
Future Planning
Harassment
High-Stakes Tests
Homeless Children
IDEA 2004
Identification & Child Find
IEPs
Juvenile Justice
Law School & Clinics
Letters & Paper Trails
LRE / Inclusion
Mediation
Military / DOD
Parental Protections
PE and Adapted PE
Privacy & Records
Procedural Safeguards
Progress Monitoring
Reading
Related Services
Research Based
  Instruction

Response to Intervention
  (RTI)

Restraints / Seclusion
   and Abuse

Retention
Retaliation
School Report Cards
Section 504
Self-Advocacy
Teachers & Principals
Transition
Twice Exceptional (2e)
VA Special Education

Resources & Directories

Advocate's Bookstore
Advocacy Resources
Directories
  Disability Groups
  International
  State DOEs
  State PTIs
Free Flyers
Free Pubs
Free Newsletters
Legal & Advocacy
Glossaries
   Legal Terms
   Assessment Terms
Best School Websites

 

What Are the Criteria for Remedial Reading Programs?
by Sue Whitney, Research Editor, Wrightslaw.com

Print this page

"My child has been in remedial reading for a year. He made three months of progress this year so he has fallen even further behind his peers."

"Can the school select one reading program and use that program with all children? What are the criteria for remedial reading programs?
"


two students working with a reading tutor in a classroom

Sue answers:

Does the school believe your child is "unteachable" because he is having difficulty learning to read?

Reading is a learned skill. Children don't learn to read by receiving "support" in the classroom. Children - especially children with special needs - need direct, specific, intensive instruction with a research based program by a teacher who is trained to use that program.

We know why children have difficulty learning to read, how to teach these children to read, and what happens when we fail to teach them. We've had this knowledge for more than 30 years. (see Reading Disabilities: Why Do Some Children Have Difficulty Learning to Read? What Can Be Done About It?)

Be sure to check the 11 Questions to Ask About Your Child's Reading Program.

Three Reasons Why Remedial Reading Programs Fail

1. The reading program is not appropriate for children with disabilities and learning differences.

Most popular reading approaches, including Guided Reading and Balanced Literacy, are not effective for children with disabilities who struggle to read.

Structured literacy (SL) teaching is the most effective approach for students who have difficulty learning to read and spell printed words -- and it helps all children improve their reading skills. Structured literacy, multisensory structured language education, and structured language and literacy are similar.

The federal education law is the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA). The ESSA includes five "essential components of reading instruction" which is defined as: "explicit and systematic instruction in --

  • phonemic awareness;
  • phonics;
  • vocabulary development;
  • reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and
  • reading comprehension strategies."

2. Teachers do not have the training, experience or freedom to use appropriate research based reading programs.

A 2021 report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) found that Few States Verify that Future Teachers Know How to Teach Children to Read.

Other Findings:

  • Nearly half of teacher preparation programs do not require aspiring elementary candidates to thoroughly cover the science of reading in coursework.
  • Only 20 states require elementary teacher candidates to pass a licensure test that is well grounded in the science of reading.
  • Only 11 of the 20 states with strong licensure tests in reading for elementary teachers extend this same requirement to special education teacher candidates.

3. Remedial reading programs are not implemented properly.

  • Remedial reading programs have too many students in each group to meet any particular child's unique needs;
  • Schools are slow to identify children as in need of intervention and remediation, so children do not receive the powerful benefits of early intervention;
  • Teachers are not adequately prepared to teach children to read; and
  • Schools are not penalized for failing to teach students to read.

Take a look at the Checklist of 11 Questions Parents Need to Ask About Their Child's Reading Program

  1. What is the name of my child's reading program?

  2. Is my child's reading program researched-based?

  3. Does my child's reading program program include the five essential components of reading instruction in the federal education law (ESSA)?

  4. How many children will be in my child's reading group?

  5. How are/were the children in this group selected?

  6. Has the teacher been trained in direct, systematic, multisensory reading instruction?

  7. Is the teacher certified in this particular program?

  8. Has the teacher completed a supervised practicum in this program?

  9. How many hours of instruction will my child receive per week?

  10. What criteria will be used to determine mastery?

  11. When (how often) will I be informed about my child's progress?



Be sure to check the articles and resources about Learning to Read, Teaching Reading, Writing, Free Pubs, and more resources on the Reading at Wrightslaw page.

END here . . . those cameras for now.

Revised: xxx
Created:

GGG

Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon The Special Ed Advocate: It's Free!

ZZZ

March Sale - SAVE 25%

Print, Immediate Downloads
and Advocacy Supplies
Order Wrightslaw Product
s
and Save 25% Now!



Check Out
The Advocate's Store!

Wrightslaw on FacebookWrightslaw on TwitterWrightslaw YouTube Channel 

Wrightslaw Books
Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition, by Pam and Pete Wright
About the Book

Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition
About the Book

Wrightslaw: All About IEPs
About the Book

Wrightslaw: All About Tests and Assessments
About the Book

Wrightslaw: Special Education Legal Developments and Cases 2019
About the Book

Surviving Due Process: Stephen Jeffers v. School Board
About the DVD Video


The Advocate's Store


Understanding Your Child's
Test Scores (1.5 hrs)

Wrightslaw Special: $14.95