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High-stakes year begins for kids still learning to read

A student rests her hand on her laptop in class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students enter the front doors of Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Atlanta has taken more drastic steps than most other cities to make up for lost learning during the coronavirus pandemic. The 50,000-student district was one of the only school systems to extend the school day. Elementary school students attend seven hours of school, half an hour more than before the pandemic.(AP Photo/Ron Harris) A third-grade student reads to the rest of her class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Third-graders are at a particularly delicate moment. This is the year when they must master reading or risk school failure. Everything after third grade will require reading comprehension to learn math, social studies and science. Students who don’t read fluently by the end of third grade are more likely to struggle in the future, and even drop out, studies show. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students take part in a dance break in their classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students are seen in their classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Third-graders are at a particularly delicate moment. This is the year when they must master reading or risk school failure. Everything after third grade will require reading comprehension to learn math, social studies and science. Students who don’t read fluently by the end of third grade are more likely to struggle in the future, and even drop out, studies show. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Third-grade teacher Chelsea Grant looks at a computer in her classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Five of the 19 students in Grant’s classroom are reading below grade level. When it was time to read aloud on a recent Friday, the students showed vastly different levels of skill and confidence. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students work in a classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) A third-grade student raises his hand in class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Third-grade students take part in a small group reading session at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) A student rests her hand on her laptop in class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students enter the front doors of Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Atlanta has taken more drastic steps than most other cities to make up for lost learning during the coronavirus pandemic. The 50,000-student district was one of the only school systems to extend the school day. Elementary school students attend seven hours of school, half an hour more than before the pandemic.(AP Photo/Ron Harris) A third-grade student reads to the rest of her class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Third-graders are at a particularly delicate moment. This is the year when they must master reading or risk school failure. Everything after third grade will require reading comprehension to learn math, social studies and science. Students who don’t read fluently by the end of third grade are more likely to struggle in the future, and even drop out, studies show. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students take part in a dance break in their classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students are seen in their classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Third-graders are at a particularly delicate moment. This is the year when they must master reading or risk school failure. Everything after third grade will require reading comprehension to learn math, social studies and science. Students who don’t read fluently by the end of third grade are more likely to struggle in the future, and even drop out, studies show. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Third-grade teacher Chelsea Grant looks at a computer in her classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Five of the 19 students in Grant’s classroom are reading below grade level. When it was time to read aloud on a recent Friday, the students showed vastly different levels of skill and confidence. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students work in a classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) A third-grade student raises his hand in class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Third-grade students take part in a small group reading session at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students are seen in their classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Third-graders are at a particularly delicate moment. This is the year when they must master reading or risk school failure. Everything after third grade will require reading comprehension to learn math, social studies and science. Students who don’t read fluently by the end of third grade are more likely to struggle in the future, and even drop out, studies show. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Third-grade teacher Chelsea Grant looks at a computer in her classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Five of the 19 students in Grant’s classroom are reading below grade level. When it was time to read aloud on a recent Friday, the students showed vastly different levels of skill and confidence. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Students work in a classroom at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) A third-grade student raises his hand in class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) Third-grade students take part in a small group reading session at Beecher Hills Elementary School on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Atlanta. Mounting evidence shows that students who took part in remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic lost about half of an academic year of learning. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)
High-stakes year begins for kids still learning to read