The MN Legislature needs to prioritize increasing Literacy Aid funding this upcoming session. That's all I got for the moment.

Anyway, my caseload has about quadrupled this year because of the READ Act, and there is no actual funding coming in to pay me for this work. My school is footing the bill, which means I'm teaching no Gen. Ed. students this year. It's a cut to our ELA program. That couldn't have been intended.

And many students score poorly (or perform inconsistently) on standardized tests, but do well in their classwork. Do these students need reading intervention? Keep in mind that ELA classes cover much more than the tests cover.

2) Districts can use local measures (another standardized test that is correlated with the MCA). Students do tend to score higher on these. But there is also more variability; a student can score at grade level in the Fall, and below in the Winter. Do those students need Reading Intervention?

Fun thing that the MN READ Act requires but doesn't fully define: "Reading at grade level". One possible definition is "Students who pass the Reading MCA are reading at grade level". This would mean that statewide, 52% of students should be in Reading Intervention. That's unsustainable. So now what?

Happy first day of school to those who celebrate!

This article is everything I want research to be in high school. Maybe not with the road trip to KS in the middle, though. tylervigen.com/the-mystery-...

Proponents of a "reading crisis" seem to believe that that 30% can be eliminated or ameliorated. But, since it is a percentage, there will always be a bottom 30%. What are we going to do with those students? Because, right now, we focus on their failure and view them as struggling.

For example, "The one third below basic is still a concern, because it includes a disproportionate number of disadvantaged students, although that discrepancy has been slowly narrowing. Nonetheless, there will always be a bottom 30% in any distribution of scores."

Maybe the real reading crisis was the friends we made along the way. As we re-litigate and re-legislate the Reading Wars, one concern that is never fully addressed is "What are we going to do with the students that continue to struggle?"

Off to Brainerd for our annual retreat and the start of a new School year!