Knox County Schools has determined that only 40% of 3rd grade students are reading at grade level. Should parents be concerned? College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences professors in Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, say that while that number is disturbing, it is an average.
WBIR-10 News talked with Sherry Mee Bell, professor and department head of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education (TPTE). “Human development is variable and some children are going to progress faster than others” according to Bell. “It is a red flag if children lag behind their peers.” Amy Broemmel, associate professor and literacy specialist in TPTE, feels that there is no one thing that causes a lower reading level. “We expect kids to come into Kindergarten almost knowing all their letters and being able to take off reading by the end of that year of school. That’s not something that 25 years ago we necessarily expected.”