To expand upon a comment by Matt Smith:
 MS>     I've _seen_ classes of 8th-grade kids where the 
 MS> aide told me that no kid read above 4th-grade level, 
 MS> and some as low as 2nd...and believe me, it showed.
I teach resource middle school kids.  None of them read at 4th grade level 
and at least 2 are hovering around k.
 MS> it's bad enough to be the oldest kid in 5th grade, 
 MS> what's it like for the socially-promoted kid when he 
 MS> gets to HS and cannot pass required-for-graduation 
 MS> courses?  (Or for the non-college-bound kid trying to 
 MS> seek work when employers see the HS degree as 
 MS> meaningless if you take social promotion all the way 
 MS> to "social graduation"?)
Self-esteem is the biggest issue in class...until I can convince any one of 
them that they >CAN< learn to read, very little progress is made with them.
That is a very slow and painful process, requiring that they first bond to me 
emotionally.  Everything builds upon that trust.  IOW, they must first trust 
me, then believe me when I insist they can do it, then they must put out the 
effort.  Success rates are not high, but they do exist and it is rewarding.
Anyhow, if they are not reading by high-school, most drop out before the 
senior year.  
We are looking at about 5th grade establishing a program with emphasis 
strictly on reading for these kids.  If they are not reading at the end of 
4th grade, they will spend most all of their day working on reading (and 
math) they will stay in that program for however long it takes to get them 
where they are independant readers.  As I envision this scheme, there will be 
no promotion to high school from within this program.  Once reading achieved, 
they will attend alternative classes to make up for the lost time in science 
and social studies.  
As I said, this model is being discussed, not accepted as yet.  The way 
hings
are now, the students come to me during language arts and math, then proceed 
the remainder of the day going from class to class with their peers.  
--- Maximus 3.00
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