Questions To Ask Your Child's School About Reading Instruction and Intervention

I recently compiled a list of questions for a friend who was concerned about her child’s reading. She didn’t know what specific questions to ask in order to find out more about his reading and writing instruction, the intervention he had started to receive earlier in the year and what kind of progress he was making. I put these questions together for her and thought they could be very helpful for any parent with the same questions and concerns! Please keep in mind that these questions were written about a rising fourth grader in Georgia, where we have a state law that requires schools screen for dyslexia 3 times a year in K-3rd grades. So some of these questions are specific to Georgia’s screening laws. Many states have similar dyslexia screening processes, and if they don’t, they should!

Questions to ask regarding his reading and writing instruction and intervention:

• Was my child (name) screened for dyslexia this past school year? With what screener? Can you send me all dyslexia screener results from at least the past 2 years? 

• What tier 1 reading instruction program does the school use for teaching reading and writing? 

• Does the program have a scope and sequence and if so, where are they at with the scope and sequence? 

• Has (name) been receiving any reading and writing/spelling intervention? 

• If so, how often? How many times per week? How many minutes per session?

• Who is providing the intervention? 

• What is their experience and training? 

• Does the school have any teachers with their dyslexia endorsement? 

• Do you have any teachers with training in the Orton Gillingham approach? If so, what level of OG training do they have (i.e. how many hours/what level of certification)

• Do you have any teachers with LETRS training? 

• Can you send me all progress monitoring reports, including any data that has been collected?

• Can you please send me my child’s Nonsense Word Reading rate?

• Can you please send me his/her ORF (Oral Reading Fluency) via CWPM (Correct Words Per Minute)? 

• How is he or she doing with spelling and writing and can you send me writing samples? Is my child learning spelling rules through a direct, explicit and systematic approach?

  These are all good starting-point questions to ask to better understand what type of instruction and intervention your child is receiving. If your school does not know the answers to these questions, or if they can’t readily provide you with progress monitoring data, then unfortunately, your struggling reader has probably not been receiving appropriate intervention and support. You’re not alone. Many schools have not yet adopted programs grounded in reading science and have not provided teachers with the training and support they need.

  Regardless of whether or not a student has an IEP or 504, a school should know if they’re struggling to learn to read, write and spell. They should know this from dyslexia screeners, classroom work, standardized assessments, from progress monitoring and rate of progress. Students who are struggling to learn to read and who may have dyslexia need intensive intervention from a highly qualifed educator with strong training in a structured literacy approach. Please keep in mind that these questions were written for a rising fourth grader and the questions would vary some for an older student (although not a lot!).

The answers to these questions (or lack of answers) will help you better understand your school’s reading and writing instruction and intervention programs and will help inform what you need to do next, to advocate for stronger support and services.