Below the Bar: Profiles of Students Who Fail State Reading Assessments

State and school districts are looking for policies they believe will improve student performance. As a result, assessments have proliferated, stakes have increased, and specific curriculum and instructional approaches are being mandated. In this study, we probed beneath students' failing scores on a state reading assessment to investigate the needs of struggling students and implications for policy. We found that scores on state tests mask distinctive and multifaceted patterns of students ' reading abilities that require dramatically different instructional emphases. We explore the implications of this complexity for state and local reform efforts that target improved teaching and learning.