HOW CHILDREN LEARN TO READ
Almost all children learn to speak naturally; reading and writing must be taught.
Literacy begins at birth. It is rooted in early social interactions and experiences that include regular exposure to oral language and print.
All good readers are good decoders. Decoding should be taught until children can accurately and independently read new words. Decoding depends on phonemic awareness; a child’s ability to identify individual speech sounds. Decoding is the on-ramp for word recognition.
Fluent readers can instantly and accurately recognize words in a text. They can read with expression and at an appropriate rate for their age. Reading fluency requires comprehension AND it supports comprehension.
Comprehension - the goal of reading – draws on multiple skills and strengths, including a solid foundation of vocabulary and background knowledge.
Direct, systematic instruction helps students develop the skills they need to become strong readers. Indirect, three-cueing instruction is unpredictable in its impact on word reading and leaves too much to chance.
English Learners/Emergent Bilinguals often need extra support to build their oral language as they learn to read and write in a new language.
To become good readers and writers, students need to integrate many skills that build over time.
Source: ReadingUnivers.org – Kelly Butler, Claude Goldenberg, Noel Gunther.
CA Dyslexia Guidelines: AB 1369
What does this require of CA school districts?
One component added phonological processing to the list of psychological processes resulting in an SLD. The other component directed the California Department of Education to develop guidelines for educators and parents regarding the identification, assessment, and instructional planning for students with dyslexia.
Can the school teams assess for dyslexia?
School teams can (and should) assess for dyslexia. CDE Guidelines discuss the critical characteristics that are indicative of dyslexia noting that dyslexia can be identified in both general education and through a comprehensive evaluation that is part of a Special Education eligibility evaluation.
Additionally, under Title 5, California Code of Regulations, Section 3030(b)(10) California regulation identifies dyslexia as a specific learning disability and provides the standards for determining whether a student has a specific learning disability.
Further the federal Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) published a guidance letter to the field noting that the terms dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia could be used by IEP teams in identifying a student’s specific learning disability and that the identification of these specific disabilities may be helpful to the team in planning interventions.
Key CA Initiatives and Policies Include:
2021: Passed and enacted the Early Literacy Support Block Grant, awarding funds to local education agencies (LEAs) with the highest percentage of under-performing students in English Language Arts (ELA).
2021: Passed and in the process of implementing SB 488 (Rubio), which requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to update its standards for the preparation of teaching candidates for reading and literacy instruction, review teacher preparation programs progress in meeting updated standards, and develop a new literacy teaching performance assessment to replace the current. Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) by 2025.
2023: Provided grants to high-needs schools to hire literacy coaches (will replicate in 2024).
2023: Appointed new California Department of Education literacy directors.
2023: Passed SB 114 requiring universal screening for reading difficulties, including risk of dyslexia, for K-2 public school students.
2025: Approved List of Screening Instruments & Information
Source: Policy Brief: California’s Early Literacy Crisis 2023