Our Tier 3 students are those who are considered to be significantly below grade level. These children are those that are identified and receive IEP services and support. Even with these supports, however, many students continue to struggle. Keep reading to learn why.

When we discussed this statistic with the team - it got heated. If you know us at all, then you know that we believe every child deserves success and the fact that two-thirds of them are not able to access grade-level materials is gut-wrenching. We did some digging and realized that the reason that 66% of 4th-grade students are not reading at grade level is that…

If you know us well you know we LOVE statistics and data (if you‘re a data nerd too, you can sit with us - and if you’re not, that’s all good too because we’ve got you covered!!!)

We were reviewing the statistics that were pushed out by the US Department of Education in 2019 reviewing the National Report Card as it pertains to students and their ability to read at a proficient level by the time they are in the 4th grade.

And if you know these studies, the statistics are shocking. Keep reading to learn how many students are ACTUALLY below grade level when it comes to reading (the number may surprise you!) and to see how we can reverse this trajectory.

“Oh, she’ll catch up,” is what Jane recalled her daughter Susan’s teachers saying throughout first and second grades. Susan, now 12, was in the lowest reading group in her classroom but teachers assured Jane that Susan was very bright and would catch up shortly.

In truth, Susan wasn’t catching up. As peers began moving past her in reading, Jane became more anxious and worried.

Is your child in the gray area?

“She has trouble spelling and reading fluently, but she’s doing okay for the most part

“He’s about a year behind, but don’t worry, it will click soon…”

“She has a hard time with reading grade level text, but she is fine compared to other kids in her class who struggle so much more…”

“I understand he has a diagnosis of dyslexia, but he’s not that far behind…”

Now that school is back in session, we are getting this question quite frequently. There is a long answer (which we will begin to get into) but the short answer is that it is complicated but not impossible to get help for your struggling student from the school if you know the right questions to ask.

We wanted to walk you through the steps of getting the help you know that your child so desperately needs. Because this can be a complicated process we decided to break it down in the same way we break tasks down for our students.

Discover the importance of early intervention for dyslexia. Learn how identifying signs in preschoolers can lead to life-changing outcomes. Early support can transform struggles into successes, paving the way for improved reading and academic confidence.

Discover why Orton-Gillingham (OG) instruction sometimes falls short and what you can do about it. Weak executive functioning might hinder progress, but with strategies to gain student buy-in, provide memory supports, and develop metacognitive skills, you can enhance learning outcomes. Join our FREE online workshop for more insights!

Typically we can help predict the length of time in a program based on standardized testing results (psychoeducational testing results, not necessarily state standardized assessments). Our team researched the length of time it would take to see consistent growth in reading ability. There were many factors at play but overall we found that student's could expect to see around 8 Standard Score points of growth in a 6-month period with therapy occurring once to twice per week. There was not a statistical difference between students being seen once to twice per week.

What is so different about OG instruction?

A major benefit is that it meets the student where they are as opposed to assuming they indirectly picked up a rule/strategy without being given the explicit rule or pattern to follow. But equally as important OG is different than reading instruction they may have received previously because it teaches the "why" of our language.

While there may be some cases in which it is good to wait, generally the answer to this question is - YES! While you absolutely do not need an evaluation to get started with remediation, it can help guide treatment and answer many questions for you, as parents as well as for the clinicians working with your child.

The best place to begin is to identify indicators of a potential learning problem. Think about it this way; if you have a student who has average to superior intelligence, has intact sensory perception (e.g., ability to see words on the paper and hear words) and has been instructed in reading and writing by a competent teacher for months or years, but is demonstrating a significant discrepancy between their IQ and their academic achievement, it is time for an evaluation.