Reading is typically considered a survival skill in our technology- and literacy-bound culture. Individuals who struggle with learning to read are at significantly elevated risk for a number of negative outcomes, including school failure, under- and unemployment, and special education placement. Thus, those who do not learn to read fluently will…

During 1989-90, British Columbia implemented a dual-entry kindergarten program based on developmental readiness. The program failed because developmental readiness was difficult to measure, random entries were the rule, and a compromise solution proved unsatisfactory. Acting out of a principled desire to serve children could not squelch rational,…