Zócalo Public Square

A new law in Arizona requires the state to fail— and hold back—third graders who haven’t learned to read. An estimated 1,500 students will be held back this year. Why are so many 9-year-olds struggling with literacy, how can schools and teachers best help them? Arizona Republic education reporter Cathryn Creno talks with ASU literacy education scholar Frank Serafini, City of Phoenix youth and education program manager Tim Valencia, and Phoenix elementary school instructional coach Daniela Robles about the state of Arizona elementary education and whether this policy can work at a panel co-presented by the ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.