Many states now require the identification of struggling readers
and, in some places, retaining them until their skills are up to
par. States Target 3rd Grade Reading By Erik W. Robelen At the
same time that thousands of school districts nationwide are
beginning to implement the Common Core State Standards in
English/language arts, many also face new state reading policies
for the early grades that call for the identification of
struggling readers, require interventions to help them, and, in
some instances, mandate the retention of 3rd graders who lack
adequate reading skills. A number of states recently adopted
such policies, many of which have echoes of a long-standing
Florida measure for reading intervention and retention for those
who lack adequate reading skills. In all, according to the
Education Commission of the States, 32 states plus the District
of Columbia now have statutes in place intended to improve
reading proficiency by the end of 3rd grade. Arizona tightens up
a recently adopted policy for re