Columbus City Schools Superintendent Talisa Dixon last month increased the minimum reading score that third graders must achieve at the beginning of the year.
The move means that 97% of the district’s third graders will be placed on a reading improvement plan this school year.
Teachers have protested the move, saying it’s a plot to inflate state report card scores and that it will shift too much attention away from students who really need help.
Today on All Sides: how children learn to read.
Guests:
- Emily Hanford, senior education correspondent, American Public Media, producer of the 2019 audio documentary “At a Loss for Words,” producer of the 2018 audio documentary "Hard Words"
- Benita Smith, Teacher, East Columbus Elementary School
- Mark Seidenberg, cognitive scientist and professor at the University of Wisconsin, author of “Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It”
