Cartledge & Lo ... Chapter 2 STOP the FCAT BAND-AID FIX

Hi there! I know we did not have to read Chapter 2, but I really wanted to see what our authors had to say about reading instruction since that's what I do for a living. So as I was sitting at the salon getting my hair done, I read through chapter 2 and saw that they were congruent with what NCLB and reading first believe. So... since we did not have to read this, I thought I would share a strong salient point from this chapter that every educator in America should hear!!!!

Here are the following quotes/passages that stood out to me found on page 23.

"The importance of intervention at the earliest sign of problems in reading is cannot be overstated. Some have advised that screenings and interventions begin as early as preschool, and certainly no later than kindergarten."

"Undiagnosed early reading reading difficulties rapidly metastasize into academic deficits and disruptive and self-destructive behaviors that special education is powerless to cure."

"There may be a critical period for children to learn to read, probably within the period of four to eight years of age."

"... impoverished urban learners need preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade experiences to make up for this loss. They need explicit and systematic instruction in the key elements that are universally accepted as being important for reading acquisition."

SO... all of the energies that are being placed currently in the annual Winter FCAT drill and kill only is the temporary band-aid fix. Cartledge & Lo have brought to light what other researchers in reading have been saying. Put your resources in K-3; catch them before they fall!!!!