By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com
The Alabama Literacy Act, first passed in 2019, will go fully into effect at the start of the new school year. We’ve been getting questions about the act and what it means for parents and students, especially third-graders who might be at risk of being held back if they aren’t reading well.
The Alabama Education Lab, a team of journalists at AL.com, talked to reading experts and assembled information from the state officials and local schools and districts to help explain the law.
Teachers are required to test the reading level of children in kindergarten, first, second and third grade at the beginning, middle and end of each school year, according to the law. That gives teachers plenty of opportunity to know which children are struggling, said Denise Gibbs, who leads the Alabama Scottish Rite Foundation Learning Centers, which helps children with dyslexia and other reading problems.