The Reading First Initiative within “The No Child Left Behind Act” (NCLB) is part of federal government legislation that requires that all students be able to read by Grade 3 and be proficient at all grade levels. There is more accountability and testing required than ever before in the schools. As a result, schools must evaluate and purchase tools, technology, and teacher training that will help them meet the standards set forth by this legislation.
Reading First
The Reading First Initiative calls for the use of “scientifically-based methods of reading instruction,” and research-based materials. The criteria are drawn directly from the National Reading Panel’s April 2000 report listing the 5 critical requirements to teaching literacy. They are:
- Develop phonemic awareness
- Develop phonics skills (sound-symbol correspondence and decoding)
- Develop fluency and automaticity with these skills
- Develop vocabulary
- Develop comprehension skills
Lexia assessment software evaluates all 5 components of reading. Lexia reading skill software develops:
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics skills
- Word-level fluency
- Basic reading vocabulary (4,000) words
- Basic comprehension skills (not analysis)
What is the No Child Left Behind Act?
Basics of Federal Regulation of Public Schools
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) expands the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education. The NCLB reinforces the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the main federal law regarding K – 12 education. Through the ESEA, the federal government’s role in K – 12 education was primarily one of providing aid to disadvantaged students and investing in educational research and development. The NCLB emphasizes accountability by making federal aid for schools conditional on those schools meeting academic standards and abiding by policies set by the federal government.
This new law sets strict requirements and deadlines for states to expand the scope and frequency of student testing, revamp their accountability system and guarantee that every classroom is staffed by a teacher qualified to teach in his or her subject area. The NCLB requires states to improve the quality of their schools from year to year. The percentage of students proficient in reading and math must continue to grow and the test-score gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students must narrow. The NCLB pushes state governments and educational systems to help low-achieving students in high-poverty schools meet the same academic performance standards that apply to all students.
Four Basic Points of NCLB
Accountability for results
The NCLB strengthens Title I responsibility for disadvantaged children by requiring states to implement statewide accountability systems covering all students in the public schools. States must meet standards in reading and mathematics, annually test all students in third through eighth grade and develop statewide progress goals ensuring that all students reach proficiency within 12 years. States must maintain goals and assess results for various categories of students officially considered “disadvantaged” based on poverty, race, ethnicity, disability and limited English proficiency to ensure that no student is left behind. School districts and schools that fail to show progress toward the statewide proficiency goals will be subject to improvement, corrective action and restructuring measures aimed at getting the school back on course to meet the standards.
An emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research
The NCLB puts special emphasis on utilizing education programs and practices that, through scientific research, have been demonstrated to be highly effective. For example, the Reading First program makes federal funds available to help reading teachers in the early grades strengthen old skills and gain new ones for instruction techniques that scientifically based research has shown to be effective.
Expanded parental options
NCLB offers more options to parents. Students attending Title I schools that fail to improve are given the opportunity to attend a better school within their district. For students who attend a persistently failing school, they are permitted to use Title I funds to obtain supplemental educational services from the public or private sector.
Expanded local control and flexibility
The NCLB is intended to give states and school districts greater flexibility in the use of Federal education funds in exchange for meeting accountability requirements. As a result there is less “red-tape” and more attention is devoted to students’ needs. Under this provision, schools have more freedom to implement innovations and allocate resources as they see fit. States and school districts are given added flexibility in several other areas, including teacher professional development and education technology.