The ability to assimilate concepts is IQ dependent; the ability to acquire skills is not. This means that more than 80% of children could, given appropriate instruction, acquire the skills required to achieve Level 5 English. This is an easily testable hypothesis adn here's how to test it!
Year 4 Pupils. Identify every vulnerable reader and arrange that each child completes a single exercise from the Jumpstart course daily. Each child completes the exercise at the computer entirely without adult supervision or intervention and then subsequently reads the exercise from the printout to an adult. Under no circumstances should the child be required to read a passage to an adult from the computer screen - only from printouts! The child needs only to be taught to advance word focus by touching the spacebar and to voice any unfamiliar words by touching any letter key.
Year 5 Pupils. Identify every vulnerable reader and arrange that each child completes an Electronic Library session every day. The number of vulnerable readers will decrease significantly each year as the prior interventions take effect. First time users should start with Level 3 titles and after about two weeks, should choose their own titles according to their personal interests. Two 'chapters' should be completed at each session but they must be completed without adult intervention of supervision. Children should always read their passages from their printouts and never from the computer screen. Each child should maintain his or her own personal reading folder.
Year 6 Pupils. Identify all vulnerable readers. This number will reduce significantly each year as prior interventions take effect. Vulnerable readers should follow the library programme described above for the first term of the academic year. All other pupils should complete a single Reading Comprehension exercise three times each week, say Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They should also complete two Dictation exercises each week on say, Tuesday and Thursday. At the final 20 minutes of each day, pupils should read one of their prepared exercises (Library, Comprehension or Dictation) to their own table group. This session should only be loosly supervised by a monitoring adult to ensure that pupils remained focused on their reading. At the beginning of Term 2, Year 6 pupils following the library course should change to the main Comprehension/Dictation programme. The only exceptions to this will be those with significant, specified learning difficulties.
