Reading education has come a long way since the days of Dick, Jane, and Spot, but many children still struggle to become readers. In fact, according to the Iowa Department of Education, nearly one in four public school third-graders did not meet state standards for reading proficiency in either 2014 or 2015.
More specifically, according to the assessments the state uses to determine proficiency, last fall 62 percent of Iowa’s second graders were at or above the benchmark for reading proficiency, while 38 percent of second graders were either deemed "at risk" for a substantial deficiency or were determined to have substantial deficiency with reading.
On this edition of Talk of Iowa, Charity Nebbe hosts a discussion on reading education, the impact of technology, and a new Iowa law that, starting next summer, will require third graders who are not proficient in reading to attend a summer program or repeat the third grade.
Joining the conversation: Ryan Wise, director of the Iowa Department of Education, Superintendent of Davenport Schools, Arthur Tate, and Donald Bear, professor of education at Iowa State University.
