I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4323
To require a comprehensive effort by the Department of Education and
the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development to
widely disseminate the results of the National Reading Panel report
to teachers, parents, and universities.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 13, 2000
Mrs. NORTHUP introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To require a comprehensive effort by the Department of
Education and the National Institute on Child Health
and Human Development to widely disseminate the re-
sults of the National Reading Panel report to teachers,
parents, and universities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reading Research Dis-
semination Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The 1998 National Assessment of Edu-
cational Progress (NAEP) found that 69 percent of
4th grade students are reading below the proficient
level.
(2) This is confirmed by the 1999 National
Education Goals Report which reports that the
United States has failed to increase the percentage
of students scoring at or above proficient in reading
for students in grade 4. The report indicates that
only 31 percent of our Nation’s 4th graders read at
or above proficient level, meaning 69 percent of stu-
dents are failing.
(3) Too many children in elementary school
cannot read at basic levels. The children cannot read
fluently and do not understand what they read.
(4) Research completed by the National Insti-
tute of Child Health and Human Development sug-
gests that the majority of the children, at least 90
to 95 percent, can be brought up to average reading
skills if there is early identification of children at
risk during kindergarten and first grade and the use
of appropriate early intervention programs.
(5) If appropriate early intervention programs
are delayed until the children reach 9 years of age
(the time that most children are identified), approxi-
mately 75 percent of the children will continue to
have reading difficulties through high school.
(6) In 1997, Congress commissioned the Na-
tional Reading Panel to assess research on reading
and implications for reading instruction.
(7) The National Reading Panel concludes that
methods combining instruction in phonological
awareness, systematic phonics, and reading com-
prehension are best suited for all children as they
begin to learn to read.
(8) The National Reading Panel report indi-
cates that repeated oral reading procedures have sig-
nificant and positive impacts on word recognition,
fluency, and comprehension for children across grade
levels. As a result, family literacy is seen as ex-
tremely important in a child’s learning.
(9) The ability to read effectively and with flu-
ency is the cornerstone for successful learning in
other subjects like math, science, and history. There-
fore, it is essential for our Nation to focus on our
Nation’s reading deficit in a timely manner.
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS.
The Department of Education and the National In-
stitute on Child Health and Human Development shall—
(1) develop a coordinated effort to disseminate
the information of the National Reading Panel re-
port to private and public school teachers, principals,
and parents; and
(2) work with institutions of higher education
and programs that train teachers to use methods of
teaching which incorporate the ideas reported by the
National Reading Panel.
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