While this change can seem small to those of us who may have learned to read easily, for struggling readers it can present a major challenge. In some cases, you will see students whose reading problems previously seemed minor begin to struggle and fail. So the transition from single syllable to multisyllable words needs to be made carefully.

Let us examine some of the assumptions behind some of these policies, and the consequences that follow. One assumption behind No Child Left Behind was that many educators just weren’t being held accountable. Another

The Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee is not a new idea. Other places, notably Florida, have encouraged similar policies, and, so far, the indications are positive. Those students who have been retained and received extra help are having greater success in later grades than similar students have in the past. Of course, as with most large policy initiatives, there are both positives and negatives, and the results are not conclusive. Without trying to analyze

All good intentions aside, however, the Common Core State Standards create some thorny issues. (See our editorial below for some of them). We won’t try to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of the CCSS in this article. However, we thought we would make a few points that might help teachers who are using, or want to start using, the

[This article was carried over from the previous issue because of interest in this subject.]

Fluency is often a significant issue for struggling readers. Over the years there have been a variety of viewpoints on when and how to address this issue, so we thought we would share our perspective. You may have already encountered these points in some of our manuals, but, if you did not, we review them here in hopes of helping you make the most of your teaching time and effort.

Fluency is most usefully defined as accuracy plus speed. Reasonable fluency is important for good comprehension. If you sacrifice accuracy to gain speed, you will not improve comprehension. (Increasing speed without accuracy does not happen often, but can occur during some kinds of instruction.) Reading with "expression” is often

Fluency is often a significant issue for struggling readers.  Over the years there have been a variety of viewpoints on when and how to address this issue, so we thought we would share our perspective.  You may have already encountered these points in some of our manuals, but, if you did not, we review them here in hopes of helping you make the most of your teaching time and effort.

Fluency is most usefully defined as accuracy plus speed.  Reasonable fluency is important for good comprehension.  If you sacrifice accuracy to gain speed, you will not improve comprehension.  (Increasing speed without accuracy does not happen often, but can occur during some kinds of instruction.)  Reading with "expression” is often

In school today, it seems like testing never ends, but, in truth the major testing season has yet to begin.  Depending on your geographical location, sometime between March and June, your school system will initiate high-stakes standardized tests meant to determine student progress.  Although most educators agree in theory that schools should not "teach to the test," in fact, almost every school system will have a plan for "preparing" students for these tests.  And almost every teacher involved will spend a considerable amount of time between now and the test date completing this "preparation."  With budgets and jobs on the line, it would be unreasonable to expect people to do otherwise.  So, for those of you using the Stevenson Program, we thought we would throw out a couple of quick ideas to help keep things in perspective.

We have not changed our prices during the last two years, but paper-product costs increased in the last half of 2012 and we need to pass those increases along.  The changes average about two per cent per year, so the Stevenson Program remains an incredible bargain compared to similar curricula.  If you want even more of a bargain, order books now.  They will probably never be this inexpensive again.  The prices will not change on the web site until March first.  To see what the prices will be at that time, click here for the latest order form.  

We recently received the following e-mail from Kim Bell, a customer:

"My son is doing VERY well on your system. He giggles when he reads now.  This hasn't
happened for a very long time. Even long pieces of SLS reading do not intimidate him."

We regularly receive compliments from our customers, and we try to let each person know how much we appreciate the kind words.  As most teachers realize, this "business" is more about emotional rewards than financial compensation.  The holidays seemed like good time to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us.  Peace, love and perseverance to all of you who are trying hard to help your students.