LETTERS: READING HELP IS BETTER THAN GRADE RETENTION

To the editor:

You recently published a letter decrying the effort to amend a law passed two years ago that requires school districts to retain students who cannot read by the end of the third grade.

While we wholeheartedly agree with the letter's contention that "requiring schools to teach children to read by the third grade ... is good public policy," we disagree that forcing students to repeat a grade is the best way to ensure that all students learn to read. Plenty of research tells us that retention is not effective for most students, and students who are held back at any point are much more likely to drop out.

Educators and parents want all students to learn to read. The best way to ensure this is to require individual attention through extra help such as tutoring and summer reading programs. That is what current legislation would do. It would not undo the widely accepted notion that all kids should learn to read by the third grade, but it does require a remedy that is more likely to be successful.

Public policy should be based on what sound research tells us works, not on punitive measures that have been proven harmful to children.

DONNA COLLINS

President

Missouri National Education Association

Jefferson City, Mo.