AV #299 - Reading in grades 4-12 - Part 3 - Setting a goal for these forgotten 60,000

 

 Setting a goal for these FORGOTTEN 60,000

Between grades 4 and 8, let’s reduce the number of students on a READ by more than 50%.

   If AV #298 was correct to suggest Colorado might have over 60,000 students in grades 4-12 on a READ Plan, this month I recommend one way we can do better. It builds on many good efforts and strategies, highlighted in AV #297, to meet the needs of struggling readers after third grade (“Why it is critical to broaden our focus beyond K-3” – excerpts from Education Week articles pointing to work in other states.)

   My proposal calls on us to seriously address the reading struggles of thousands of students after third grade. We are not doing that today. A statement from the Colorado Department of Education, “What happens for students who continue on a READ plan beyond third grade?”, reads like a wish list.^[i] Who believes this is happening across Colorado?

   Here are three steps to follow-up on the K-3 efforts of the READ Act.

   I propose districts—and or/schools – set a goal: 1) know how many students are on a READ Plan in grade 4; 2) know who those students are; and then 3) give them sufficient attention and support so that MOST OF THEM, at least over 50%, will be off a READ Plan by the time they reach eighth grade.

 

Purpose of the READ Plan: to see students demonstrate “grade level competency” as readers. “For students who are not reading on grade level by the end of third grade, the READ plan remains in place in subsequent years until grade level competency is achieved.”                                                                                         From 2025 READ Act Report.[ii]

 

   As I will show, CDE’s report on the number of students in grades 4-8 on a READ Plan, though incomplete, suggests many districts are not meeting this goal. (CDE’s 4-8 data is available upon request. The most recent numbers available are from the 2023-24 academic year.)

   Below you will see eight school districts (including Denver, Adams 14, Cherry Creek, Littleton, and Westminster) where, unfortunately, between grade 4 and grade 8, the number of students on a READ Plan remains high.

   Then you will see eleven districts that, over the course of four years, significantly reduced the percentage of their students on a READ Plan by eighth grade.

   The goal, then, is doable. In fact, as a state, in 2024, we met this goal.

 

State figures: the number on a READ Plan declines by grade 8 – by over 50% 

   CDE’s recent reports show the number of students, grades 4-8, on a READ Plan. Alarming numbers, but the “good news,” if you will, is that the number on a READ Plan, over four years, fell by 50% or more. (NOTE: Of course these are not the same students. To track the same “class” through these five years is complicated. But my attempt, see Endnotes,^[iii] leads to a similar result: following one class from 2019 to 2023, 47% were still on a READ Plan in grade 8.)

                             Number of Colorado students on a READ Plan, grades 4-8

	Total # on READ Plan, grades 4-8	Grades					% remain              (# on in 8th gr. divided by # on in 4th gr.)
		4	5	6	7	8
2023-24	37,287	13,081	10,308	7,497	1,161*	5,240	5,240/13,081 = 40%
2022-23	38,460	12,708	10,548	2,157*	6,676	6,371	50%
2021-22	39,070	14,033	1,966*	8,395	7,914	6,762	48.2%

  * Data affected “due to pandemic-related suspension of the 2020 READ Act Collection” (CDE). More in Endnotes.^[iv]

   [As I showed in AV #298, the data CDE reports understate what the actual numbers for 2024 must have been. For grades 4-8, we have 2024 data from fewer than 60 of our 185 districts. More in Endnotes.^[v])

    In at least eight Colorado school districts (see below) the percentage of students on a READ Plan in 8th grade, compared to 4^th grade, is 60% or greater. Again, I fully understand these are not the same students. And of course many students, even with excellent support, have learning difficulties that will keep them from becoming proficient readers by eighth grade.

   Nevertheless, I believe there could be value if these eight districts, and others too, look at the data and ask: Why do we see so many of our students on a READ Plan in grade 8? Have we focused on serving these boys and girls well during grades 4, 5, 6, and 7?

   I am sure we would all like to see students enter 9^th grade reading at or close to grade level. We know how frustrating it can be for students to tackle high school material when their reading skills are at the 6^th grade level—or even lower. (My first teaching job, 1975-76, included a class of six 9^th graders, all struggling to read well.) How can we best address this problem? Do we add 100 more reading interventionists in our high schools?

   Our priority must be to address the reading challenges for students before they reach high school. If we start in 4^th grade, we have five years to address whatever befuddles thousands of our boys and girls when they sit down to read.

   Five years to help them catch up. Don’t we believe, in most cases, we can do this?

 

                        Comparing grade 4 to grade 8 - over 50% still on READ Plan

8 districts	Grades					% remain              (# on in 8th gr. divided by # on in 4th gr.)
	4	5	6	7*	8

Denver	1,712	1,385	1,254	34	1,172	68.5%
Adams 14	166	106	73	Supp	110	67%
Cherry Creek	636	638	524	Supp	408	64%
Littleton	137	94	107	63	88	64%
Westminster	256	218	193	Supp	161	63%
Douglas County	768	605	523	Supp	480	61%
Mapleton	195	204	182	Supp	119	61%
Aurora Public Schools	1,105	977	720	684	661	60%

*Supp - Suppressed. See above re the suppression of grade 7 data, for most districts, in 2023-24.

   In contrast, here are eleven districts telling us we can do better than that. 

 

             Comparing grade 4 to grade 8 - over 50% fewer students on a READ Plan

11 districts	Grades					% remain               (# on in 8th gr. divided by # on in 4th gr.)
	4	5	6	7	8

Adams 12	617	446	368	Supp	36	36/617  =  6%
School District 27J	504	390	394	Supp	64	12.7%
Academy 20	208	111	84	114	37	37/208  =  18%
Charter Sch. Institute	321	161	137	Supp	69	21.5%
Jeffco	1,161	881	521	Supp	249	249/1,161  =  21.5%
Poudre	373	258	202	Supp	137	37%
Durango	74	68	33	Supp	28	28/74  =  38%
Roaring Fork	116	88	61	Supp	50	43%
Eagle	150	102	100	Supp	67	67/150  =  45%
Greeley 6	490	385	270	Supp	220	45%
St. Vrain	584	467	401	Supp	267	267/584  =  46%

 

   Yes, I was surprised by the dramatic declines in some cases. I wrote back to CDE to confirm that these are the numbers in its report. They are. (My comment in Endnotes.^[vi] I hope anyone questioning the data here—e.g., the drop between grade 6 and 8 – will seek answers.)

   Still, overall, this seems clear: during this four-year period, districts can reduce the number of students on a READ Plan by over 50%. 

Will your district set such a goal?

A second idea: A high school and its “feeder schools” meet to set a goal about their students on a READ Plan. Why? Because no high school is ready to meet the needs of 400 students on a READ Plan. See Addendum.

   If any district decides to set such a goal, beginning in 2026-27, I would cheer such an effort. And if reducing the percentage of students on a READ Plan over these four years by just 50% is not ambitious enough, by all means, let’s set a higher target. If we make a serious effort to meet the needs of our struggling readers during these four years—before it is too late—who knows what is possible? 

 

Addendum

Recommendation #2 - A high school meets with its K-8 “feeder schools.”

Together they set a goal: over the next four years, we will see … 

   What I propose in AV #299 might be impossible for our largest districts. Here is a more focused suggestion. It starts with the high school, which then builds a team effort with all its feeder schools. The high school will point to the number of freshmen who arrive on a READ Plan. The feeder schools would then set a goal: over the next four years, to significantly reduce the number of 8^th and 9^th graders to be on a READ Plan.

  In both 2023 and 2024, CDE’s reports show that, among Colorado high schools, Westminster High and Aurora Central High had the highest number of freshmen on a READ Plan.  

		Students on a READ Plan - by Grade
	Grades 9-12	9	10	11	12
Westminster High School
2023-24	392	169	155	121	Supp
2022-23	419	174	120	77	48
Aurora Central High School
2023-24	393	114	109	107	63
2022-23	419	135	131	95	58

    Such schools must be overwhelmed by these numbers. What can be done?

   Here I sketch a plan that a high school and its “feeder schools,” working together, might create. I believe our high schools would be glad to initiate such an effort. High school teachers know all too well that they lack the time, the training, and the resources to meet the needs of so many struggling readers. These teachers will be eager to see freshmen arrive better prepared.

   And I believe their “feeder schools” will appreciate seeing how their efforts ensure more students are reading well before they enter 9^th grade.

   If the high school and its feeder schools own this effort, if they use their own data to determine the goals they will set for the next 4-5 years, I expect they will vastly reduce the number of 8^th graders on a READ Plan.

Sketching a five-year plan

1. Year One - Here is the number of 4^th graders in our elementary, middle, and K-8 schools on a READ Plan. __x__
2. Over the next four years, our elementary, middle, and K-8 schools will do all we can to address the reading challenges of these students, and to keep track of their progress.
3. Year Five – We report the number of our 8^th graders, from that same 4^th grade class in year one, still on a READ Plan. __y__
4. GOAL: to see that ___ (y divided by x) is less than 50%.

 

Grade	4	5	6	7	8
2026-27	x
2027-28		X - ?
2028-29			X - ?
2029-30				X - ?
2030-31					y

 

5. Finally, devote extra resources in grade 8 to support the students - y - still on a READ Plan. This is our last opportunity to help these 13- and 14-year-old students improve their reading skills before they enter high school next year. Let’s do all we can to help our 8^th graders leave us ready to succeed

Endnotes

---

[i] Colorado Department of Education - READ Plans from Year to Year

The Colorado READ Act clearly outlines requirements for assessing all K-3 students, identifying students with a significant reading deficiency, and establishing a plan of intervention in a READ plan.

What happens for students who continue on a READ plan beyond third grade?             (Bold mine)

   The READ Act requires that a student placed on a READ plan in grades kindergarten through third grade remains on a READ plan until reaching grade level reading competency. When a student continues on a READ plan in grades four and beyond, it is crucial that schools and districts have processes in place to ensure that the student continues to receive the instructional supports needed to continue making progress toward reading competency. A well-written and detailed history of the student’s reading achievement in the READ plan is a critical component in the process. For elementary schools already designing systems for student continuing on READ plans in grades 1-3, the same processes can be used schoolwide to ensure that students continue to receive urgent, consistent, and when necessary, increased intensity of interventions beyond third grade. When students on READ plans do not reach grade level reading competency before leaving the elementary grades, continued focus and successful remediation of their reading difficulties may hinge on the systems leaders have in place.

[Includes] To best support students on READ plans in the later grades, some essential questions for leaders to consider ____

      More at READ Plans from Year to Year - https://www.cde.state.co.us/node/67190/ 

[ii] Colorado READ Act - 2025 Annual Report, Colorado Department of Education, https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/read-act-report-2025 

[iii] Tracking a “class” through four years - How many were still on a READ plan four years later? 

Grade	4	5	6	7	8
2018*	11,000
2019	13,310	10,770
2020	No data in 2021 report – COVID-19 related.*
2021			9,584	7,904
2022				7,914	6,762
2023					6,371

* Testing in 2019-20 limited due to the pandemic. (See Endnote # IV.) 

4^th grade in 2018 – 11,000 (guesstimate) on a READ Plan - becomes 8^th grade in 2022 – 6,762 on a READ Plan

4^th grade in 2019 - 13,310 students on a READ Plan - becomes 8^th grade in 2023 – 6,371 on a READ Plan

So between 2019 and 2023, most of those 13,310 students came off a READ Plan. 47% were still on a READ Plan. 

[iv] CDE’s explanation of the lower number for grade 7 in 2024 (1,161), and for this same class the previous two years: “These students did not have the opportunity to be identified as having a significant reading deficiency and placed on a READ plan in their third grade year, due to the pandemic-related suspension of assessments and data collections in 2019-20. Therefore, these seventh grade students were identified as having a significant reading deficiency and placed on a READ plan in their second grade year, or earlier.” (Colorado READ Act – 2025 Annual Report, CDE,  https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/read-act-report-2025) 

[v]  CDE’s reporting for grades 4-8 comes from fewer than 60 districts, and even from them much data is suppressed. The explanation is that any number under 16 are suppressed; this is often the case, in reporting grade by grade, in many small districts. Data is suppressed from virtually all 110 Colorado districts enrolling fewer than 900 students.

   As explained in the previous Endnote, data for one class is incomplete due to little testing taking place during 2019-20. 

  And for reasons that I fail to understand, we see all data from four of the state’s largest 40 districts are suppressed: Colorado Springs 11, Pueblo 60, Ed reEnvisioned, and Fort Morgan. (They enroll over 53,000 students). AV#298 showed this was the case for grades 9-12; it is true for grades 4-8 as well. Everything is suppressed.

[vi] Two points on the large drop from one grade to the next, or data being suppressed the next year:

1.      Keep mind that CDE’s reporting suppresses low numbers (N<16) to protect student privacy. In studying the school-by-school reports, I found cases where the number on a READ Plan was between 16 and 25 students for one grade, and then saw data suppressed for the next grade. It is entirely believable that a school can help 10 or more students move off a READ Plan in a year, which could account for the total to be under 16 the following year.

2.      I taught in two K-8 schools where students’ records moved along smoothly, grades 4 to 5 to 6 to 7 to 8. I wonder if that happens as well in the transition from an elementary to a middle school. Does READ plan data always follow the students when move on to another school?