Arizona’s “Move on When Reading” law provides students with reading instruction from kindergarten through third grade (K-3) that is designed to position them for long-term success both at school and in their future careers by improving their reading proficiency at an early age. This article provides a very brief overview of the basic components of the law.
Links to short YouTube videos in both English and Spanish designed for parents and guardians are available on the Arizona Department of Education’s “Move on When Reading” website: https://www.azed.gov/mowr
So what does the “Move on When Reading” law do?
- It requires all school districts and charter schools to submit a K-3 Literacy Plan as well as student achievement data to the Arizona Department of Education either every year or every other year. (A.R.S. § 15-211)
- It requires all public schools that provide K-3 instruction to adopt an evidence-based reading curriculum that includes the essential components of reading instruction. (A.R.S. § 15-704)
The essential components of reading instruction means instruction in each the following:
(a) phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness;
(b) phonics encoding and decoding;
(c) vocabulary development;
(d) reading fluency as demonstrated by automatic reading of text;
(e) reading comprehension of written text; and
(f) written and oral expression, including spelling and handwriting. (A.R.S. § 15-704)
- It requires school districts to provide ongoing professional development in the subject of reading research to K-3 teachers. (A.R.S. § 15-704)
- It requires each school to administer screening, ongoing diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments to monitor student progress and plan appropriate instruction and/or intervention for every student. (A.R.S. § 15-704)
- It requires that a student generally may not be promoted from the third grade if the student’s score on the AzMERIT statewide assessment falls below the cut score established by the State Board of Education. (A.R.S. § 15-701)
- It requires all school districts and charter schools to offer third-grade students who score below the cut score multiple options among the following intervention and remediation strategies:
(1) assignment to a different teacher for reading instruction;
(2) participation in summer school reading instruction;
(3) participation in intensive reading instruction before, during, or after the regular school day; or
(4) participation in small group and teacher-led evidence-based reading instruction which may include computer-based instruction or online reading instruction. (A.R.S. § 15-701)
- It requires that exceptions apply to the general rule that a third-grade student will not be promoted if they score below the cut score if the student:
(1) is an English Language Learner (ELL) who has received less than two year of English instruction;
(2) has a disability and the IEP team agrees that promotion is appropriate (or the student is in the process of being evaluated for an IEP);
(3) has been diagnosed with a significant reading impairment (including dyslexia); or
(4) demonstrates sufficient reading skills or adequate progress toward sufficient reading skills through a collection of assessments approved by the State Board of Education. (A.R.S. § 15-701)
Sources and further reading
Arizona Department of Education – “Move On When Reading”: https://www.azed.gov/mowr
Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 15-211: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/15/00211.htm
Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 15-701: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/15/00701.htm
Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 15-704: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/15/00704.htm
Arizona State Board of Education – “Move on When Reading”: https://azsbe.az.gov/resources/move-when-reading
Read On Arizona – “Move on When Reading”: http://www.readonarizona.org/resources/move-reading