Big Education Ape: The Myth of the Third Grade Milestone - voiceofsandiego.org: Education

Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Myth of the Third Grade Milestone - voiceofsandiego.org: Education

The Myth of the Third Grade Milestone - voiceofsandiego.org: Education

Kimbrough Elementary third grader Brianda Avila Ramirez works on a reading assignment. Reading smoothly by the end of third grade is seen as a crucial ability, but nearly half of the county's third graders fell short in English on state tests this year.

The Myth of the Third Grade Milestone

By EMILY ALPERT

Third grade has traditionally been seen as the point where kids master reading and start using it to learn other things. But so many kids fall short of that mark that schools must teach reading long after third grade.

» Yesterday

: Want Preschool? Just Sign Here -- And Here, Here and Here; » By EMILY ALPERT; Despite solid evidence that it matters, preschool is still a privilege, one many families have to fight to prove they're poor enough for.