What to Expect from Your Child’s School Reading Instruction

Over 40 years of research and practice confirms that the most effective way for students to become strong, independent readers is through a structured literacy approach. Structured literacy teaches reading and writing of the English language explicitly, directly, and systematically. 

As a parent, you want to make sure that your child is getting the education they need and deserve. Yet, schools function differently. Based on their resources, training, and personnel, schools use different reading approaches and curricula, and they respond differently to the needs of their students. Knowing what is fair to expect of your school will help you advocate for your child. Here are a few baseline expectations that can be observed in an effective Kindergarten - Gr. 3 reading program. 

1. You have received your child’s test scores. All students should take standardized, norm-referenced tests 1-3 times every year. These tests compare your child’s skills to other students throughout the nation. They don’t tell the whole story of your child’s learning, but they are a helpful snapshot. Pay attention to these scores. Your child should be getting extra help beyond the classroom instruction if they are at the 25th percentile or below. 

Request a copy if you have not received your child’s standardized test scores (In my local district, they are MAP scores).

2. Beginning readers are taught how to sound out and spell words. In kindergarten through third grade (and with older students who are still beginners), teachers should work directly with students for at least 30 minutes a day teaching letter sounds and how to blend them to sound out words efficiently, as well as spelling. Teachers should follow a carefully developed progression of skills, called a “scope and sequence.” As the students learn new sounds and spelling patterns, they get lots of practice reading stories that apply the letters and sounds that they have studied so far. These practice stories are called “decodables.” This goes for both the whole class and intervention instruction for developing readers.

In effective instruction, students are NOT:

• Told to guess or substitute words with similar meanings. 

• Expected to absorb reading skills primarily through exposure to good literature. 

• Left on their own for long periods of independent reading with limited teacher guidance, especially if they are beginners. 

• Taught letter sounds and spelling patterns for just a few minutes a day, or in a haphazard way that corresponds more to a story being read than to the structure of English.

Find out if your school uses a structured literacy approach. If they do not say “yes,” they probably do not. 

3. If your child is behind, you have been told how they will be helped. Effective schools have a plan for how they will analyze test scores, assign groups for extra help, and do periodic check-up tests, called progress monitoring. Teachers or school leaders are able to explain how they will make changes if your child is not catching up. These may include forming smaller groups, providing longer or more frequent intervention lessons, using a more in-depth reading program, or recommending further testing for special education services. Intervention programs should employ a structured literacy approach and be taught by teachers who are well trained in this approach.

If you believe your child needs extra support in reading, ask the school what their plan is. Ask how their support will be intensified if your child has received extra help but is not catching up.

You can use the expectations above as a starting point for asking questions at your child’s school and becoming familiar with the school’s reading program. While there are many other aspects to a quality literacy program, the features above are important observable components. You are your child’s best advocate, and time is of the essence. If your child needs additional help in reading, the sooner, the better.

If you have done all you can to work with your child’s school, and your child still isn’t getting what they need, you may need to look for other school options or seek outside help. Contact Reading Rays for more information about the structured literacy programs and in-school tutoring at our partner schools.