ClearCode Reading blog
Original guidance from ClearCode Reading specialists—published here to help families understand reading progress and take a thoughtful next step.
Why “wait and see” rarely works for struggling readers, and what to ask your child’s teacher instead
Like most schools, the leadership team at the school where I taught fourth and fifth grade ELA would have grade-level teams review their students’ beginning-of-year assessment data every September.
You know your child needs help with reading, and you’re looking for guidance on where to start.
In the summer of 2024, we had three weeks to move from Washington, DC to Florida, including finding a day care for my son and a school for my daughter, who was starting kindergarten.
I became a fourth-grade teacher in 2012, a year after I was a resident teacher in a fifth-grade classroom at the same school. I was my students’ thirteenth teacher since kindergarten. On average, my students were reading two years below grade level. We had a lot of work to do.
In a few weeks, your child is going to bring home that first assessment report. If you see a score you don’t like, you'll immediately wonder: Does my kid need help? If your gut says yes, trust it. The data actually backs you up.
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