As the president has said, reading is becoming a new civil right, said Bill Hammond, director of instructional coordination in DeKalb County Schools. The president has proposed a reading initiative that takes into account many key elements of a successful reading policy. I believe that President Bush s Reading First program is the best thing to come out of the United States Department of Education since its inception, Schrenko said. The president s proposal is a common-sense, research based method of teaching reading. Absolute standards must be used in order to measure the success of education reform, Barnes said.
People don t almost get into college or almost get jobs.
So, we have to be able to measure results. The Bush reading proposal, aimed at ensuring every child can read by the third grade, awards grants to states that establish comprehensive reading programs based on scientific research.