A、Because reading is a very important ability. B、Because third grade is the threshold year for kids in the learning of all subje

M: How much does extra reading time help? And what are other states doing to improve reading proficiency? For more about this, we’re joined from Washington by Parte Barth. She is the director of The Center for Public Education. So, we always hear about this third grade threshold and it is really important to try to get a kid up to grade level by third grade, why?
W: Well, a lot of research suggests that third grade reading is a threshold year. What some studies say is that the likelihood of a third grader who is not reading on the grade level has a likelihood of dropping out that is three or four times greater than a child who is reading on grade level. So there is a lot of stake.
M: So in addition to the extra hours of the reading time, what are some other states doing? What are some different techniques to try to get kids up to speed?
W: Well, the importance of the third grade reading is so high that we have over 30 states that have some kind of policy to make sure children get the support they need to be on grade level. Some states require summer school. Some require after-hours instructions, whether after school or on Saturdays, for students who have difficulties. Some have at-home reading programs that they work with parents with.
M: So, increasing the time spent in reading during the day. Does that work?
W: Well, I will give it a qualified yes. It works but it does depend on how that time is used. So if you just merely increase the time during the day and do nothing else, it doesn’t work. I always like to caution people about, when you are talking about adding time to the school day of young children, little kids get tired. So you need to make sure that they are also getting some break during the day, that they have snacks and that they’re engaged. When all those pieces are in place, we have seen that it does make a difference.
M: And what about the sort of cost investment? Obviously, it costs more money to... and would that money, say, be better spent hiring more teachers or used differently?
W: You’re right to point out that it is very costly. Because it does require extra staffing: it requires more time that buildings are open, transportation cost and so forth. So adding time can be one of the most expensive investments that a state or a district makes in their public schools. We don’t have a single system — we have 50 state systems. Within that, we have 14,000 school districts. And so all of them and each of them can take different approaches to this, and they do. When they do that, as researchers, we can learn what is working the best. We can share that information and learn from each other.
M: Alright. Parte. Thanks so much for joining us.
W: Thank you.
This is the end of Conversation Two. Questions 6 to 10 are based on Conversation Two.
6. Who is Patte Barth?
7. Why is it important for kids to get to grade level by third grade?
8. What have some states done to improve reading?
9. Does it work to increase the time spent in reading?
10. How many school districts are there in the United States?