Grand Junction, CO – Do you remember how you learned to read? What about how your kids learned to read? Was it a government-run school that taught you, or was it maybe an adult family member? If you’re reading this, clearly you have the skill. Plus, we believe you’re smarter than anyone who doesn’t read our articles.
Well, here’s a little insight into the government program that started in 2012. It was designed to teach kids through 3rd grade to read and improve their reading ability. Shockingly (not shockingly), this program has been one big, expensive failure. In fact, it’s failed so badly, that the legislature this year thought it was wise to spend (waste) an additional $5.2 million on outside consultants to try and save the program. Of course, scrapping this ineffective program isn’t on the table.
Colorado’s education department will spend up to $5.2 million over six years on a consultant charged with determining why the state’s 2012 landmark reading law failed to produce significant gains for struggling readers.
ANN SCHIMKE Chalkbeat Colorado, Nov 20, 2019
So, how ineffective is this program? Well, let’s see what the liberal Chalkbeat has to say about it:
Despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on reading intervention since the READ Act’s inception, just over 41% of Colorado third graders met or exceeded grade-level standards on the state’s 2019 literacy test. The percentage wasn’t much different — 38.2% — in 2015.
ANN SCHIMKE Chalkbeat Colorado, Nov 20, 2019
The program passed with bipartisan support in 2012 just before Republicans lost the majority in the house.
The program has been reauthorized to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Our guess (a very educated one) is that the metrics and standards for reading proficiency have been lowered during that time. So, the increase to 41% isn’t really a reflection poorly this program is performing.
Colorado is wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on a program that doesn’t work. Didn’t we just hear Democrats arguing about how education in Colorado is underfunded and that they run a tight ship?
Yeah, we didn’t believe it either – that’s why Proposition CC that gutted TABOR in the name of education funding failed so miserably. It was the last in a long list of initiatives to fund a “hurting” education system. Maybe it is time to consider wasteful spending on programs, instead?
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