Empirical Letters

Recently I received a letter from my children’s local school regarding the third-grade law that students who are not reading below the standard grade level can potentially be retained. [See: Michigan Third Grade Reading Law] Furthermore, an Individualized Reading Improvement Plan (IRIP) will be implemented for the students and families to improve the student’s reading. As an advocate of education and reading I always advocate for more resources and tools to improve students’ comprehension and ability to retain information. Futher, I posed many questions regarding this law and how it will affect the students.

Questions

As highlighted in the article the third-grade reading law was created in 2016 yet did not take effect until the 2019-2020 school year. During the academic year of 2019-2020 the world encountered a pandemic that shut down schools. Majority of students had to attend school online with little to no resources like adequate technology. Furthermore, the pandemic highlighted showing the implications of readiness and response to how we maneuver through crisis. Furthermore, schools did not open fully until 2021-2022.

What was the purpose of this law?

How do we measure success of students who do not show passing scores?

Does standardized testing create a successful mean to measure intelligence? [See: Educational Review Article]

When crisis strike when do lawmakers recall laws that could impact progession?

These questions create more dialogue and discussion to how the American education system functions in times of crisis and in our everyday lives.