Achieving Reading Proficiency for All

The importance of all students achieving reading proficiency, as well as the new federal requirements to set proficiency standards and monitor progress across subgroups of students, continues to influence policymakers, educators, and the American public. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires that all students be “proficient ” in reading by 2013-14 and demands that all schools make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward that end. Proficiency is a truly worthy goal, but the practical realities of meeting it present some major challenges. In our work at the International Center for Leadership in Education with schools that have achieved substantial progress in the area of reading proficiency, we have learned some important lessons. First, while some schools have made great strides, success on a broad scale has remained elusive. Many schools and districts continue to struggle. Secondly, even where genuine successes have been realized, schools have recognized an important limitation: Bringing all students to proficiency using the same strategies is highly unlikely, no matter how many times the strategies are repeated. As Albert Einstein remarked, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.” Lastly, some of the more successful districts have improved reading proficiency by developing and implementing K-12 literacy plans. Surprisingly few school districts have such plans. At best, they have a K-6 reading program. Most literacy plans begin with the positing of three questions: 1. What is reading proficiency? 2. How shall we set reading proficiency standards? 3. What new approaches/techniques are needed to achieve reading proficiency for all