The Read to Achieve program has been a disaster for many North Carolina third graders. The requirement that third graders pass the state reading test or an approved equivalent in order to be promoted to fourth grade has turned many third-grade classes into stress-filled exercises in test prep.

A more comprehensive description of problems with Read to Achieve can be found in the Raleigh News & Observer article: “Politics-driven Read to Achieve a path to failure for NC.”

State legislators have already been hearing from their constituents about the problems the legislation has caused. But the more people they hear from, the more likely they are to make changes. Please contact your state senator and representative, and ask them to change Read to Achieve to stop retaining students based on test scores, and instead fund policies with well-established track records of improving student reading, such as pre-kindergarten and supports for struggling readers before they reach third grade.

You can find out who represents you in Raleigh on the Fix Read to Achieve Now site, here. There is a sample letter here. But if you have a personal story to tell, that would be even more effective.

If you want to keep up with what’s going on with Read to Achieve, please sign the Fix Read to Achieve Now petition, which calls on lawmakers to stop treating students as test scores. Signing the petition will put you on their newsletter list, and they will be sending out suggestions for next steps soon.

Thanks, and please pass the word. It will take all of us working together to get this done!