Colorado READ Act Information for Parents

EARLY LITERACY IS A COLORADO PRIORITY

Every child should read by the third grade. This is an elemental building block to receiving a quality education. It is so important that the state legislature put it into Colorado law and the Colorado Department of Education made it one of the department’s four guiding goals.

The Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act (Colorado READ Act) was passed by the Colorado Legislature in 2012, giving the state the guiding philosophy, structure and resources to get children reading at grade level by the time they enter the fourth grade.

LEARNING TO READ, READING TO LEARN

Research shows students must make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn by the end of the third grade to be successful in later grades. Each year, as grade-level demands increase, students who struggle to read can fall further behind.

The Colorado READ Act works to ensure the mastery of reading for third-grade students before they advance to fourth grade. The initiative focuses on early literacy programs, resources for both teachers and students, early screening, individualized reading plans for at school and at home, assessments. As a last resort,

	
	
KEY FACTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY LITERACY
• Graduation, college and career preparedness are more likely possibilities for students who master reading skills by fourth grade.

• A student who misses the opportunity to learn to read proficiently before fourth grade almost never catches up.

• Reading to learn enables a student to comprehend facts in social studies and science, understand word problems in math and interpret increasingly complex concepts in language arts.

• According to the Annie. E. Casey Foundation, students who cannot read by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, and high school drop outs make up 75percent of citizens receiving food stamps and 90 percent of the Americans on welfare.

the law allows retention to ensure that all students entering fourth grade are able to read to learn.

	
	
PREVALENC End of the ye a significant r skills in areas including oral
	
E OF SIGNIFICANT READING DEFICIENCIES IN COLORADO (2017)
ar assessment data from 2017 shows 15.7 percent (40,533) of K-3 Colorado students had eading deficiency, which is when a student doesn’t meet minimum reading competency
of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development and reading fluency – skills and reading comprehension.

GRADE
	
NUMBER OF STUDENTS TESTED IN 2017
	
NUMBER OF STUDENTS IDENTIFIED WITH SRD
	
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS IDENTIFIED WITH SRD

Half-day Kindergarten
	
13,735
	
1,439
	
10.5%

Full-day Kindergarten
	
48,349
	
4,930
	
10.2%

First Grade
	
63,720
	
11,107
	
17.4%

Second Grade
		
10,806
				
			65,615
		16.5%
			
					Source: Colorado Department of Education

Third Grade
	
67,360
	
12,251
	
18.2%

TALKING TO YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER ABOUT READING PROGRESS

• AT LEVEL/ON TARGET: If your child’s assessment says “At Level/On Target,” your child is on track for meeting reading targets. You will still want to ask your child’s teacher about daily reading instruction. What does classroom instruction look like? What skills are they working on? What home activities can support instruction?

• AT SOME RISK: If your child’s assessment says, “At Some Risk,”: some reading skills are present but not all. Supplemental supports are needed in addition to grade-level instruction to help get your child on track. You will want to ask your child’s teacher about supplemental supports. What does classroom instruction look like? What skills are they working on? What types of home activities can support instruction?

• AT HIGH RISK: If your child’s assessment says, “At High Risk,” this means he or she has limited or no reading skills. Intensive intervention is needed in addition to grade-level instruction to support your child
to get on track. You will want to ask your child’s teacher about the READ Act plan for your child and intervention services being
provided. What does classroom instruction look like? What skills do my child need supported? What type of intervention
services is being provided and how frequently? What types of home activities can support instruction?

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE? • Growing Readers

• Reading Tips 

• More on the Colorado READ Act

COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

SUPPORTING READING AT HOME

TALK OFTEN
The more words children hear, the better they will be at reading. Narrate your day. Talk about everything you and your child do throughout the day. Converse with your child over meal times and other times you are together. Introduce new and interesting words.

READ TOGETHER
Read books together, spend time talking about the stories, pictures and words.

BE AN ADVOCATE
Keep informed about your child’s progress
in reading. Ask the teacher about ways to help.

BE AN EXAMPLE

Children learn from the habits of those around them. Read, write and show your child the benefits of both.

VISIT THE LIBRARY
Story times, special events, books, magazines, computer access, homework help and other exciting opportunities and activities await the entire family at your local library.

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE? • Growing Readers

• Reading Tips 

• More on the Colorado READ Act