Reading University

REFERRALS TO READING U

REFERRAL CRITERIA 2025

UPDATED February 23, 2025

HOW IS A CHILD REFERRED TO ATTEND READING UNIVERSITY?

By the time the second reporting period has passed, it is generally accepted that most teachers have a pretty good idea of which students will probably not be reading at grade level by the end of the school year. With that in mind, we have developed the following criteria for referral to Reading University 2025.  We will   use the current standardized data that teachers will have at hand

Students who are referred to Reading University will meet all of the following criteria:

  1. not reading at Grade 3 level by the middle of May 2025
  2. presents in the AT RISK CATEGORY in the provincial Castles & Coletheart (testing CC3) during year-end testing: Regular Word score (between 20-30) Irregular Word score (between 10-30) Nonwords score (between 15-20)
  3. has the potential to achieve grade-level reading status with three weeks of focused intervention and has the motivation to continue practicing
  4. is possibly a reluctant reader but shows the potential to develop a positive attitude about reading
  5. may struggle with writing due to poor word-building skills
  6. needs to learn more reading strategies to support understanding of what is read
  7. has caregivers who will commit to the child attending the full three-week program
  8. Given the intensity of the intervention, all students must attend all days. Students who are unable to attend all 3 weeks will not be considered.
 

The following indicates that a student is NOT a potential RU candidate: 

  • is showing little to no growth in reading despite focused interventions at school 
  • is significantly below grade level in reading and is FAR below peers (and has been all year),
  • is a non-reader
  • is an ESL student with VERY limited ability in English
  • has severe emotional or behavioral needs, or is a non-compliant learner
  • needs a scribe for written work
  • has a classroom at EA school
  • will be away for any of the days during the three weeks the program is in session.

The Process

  • Teachers will identify students in Grade 3 who fit the criteria as outlined. These students will probably have entered Grade 3 scoring in the AT RISK category at the end of Grade 2. They will have shown some but not enough progress to take them out of the AT RISK category.
  • Teachers are asked to speak with parents in advance about the program using the child’s progress on the CC3 scores as data points and encourage them to support their child’s attendance
  • Send home a referral note. Be sure to follow up with parents in case the note gets “lost”. Send along the QR code so the form can be accessed by cell phone.
  • The note will remind the parents that their child is eligible to attend this summer’s RU session. To guarantee acceptance they must go to the website, fill in and submit the form. Once the registration is received the teacher will be contacted to input the CC3 scores.
  • Once completed the referral will be reviewed and then both parents and teacher will receive an electronic communication about the status of the referral.
  The final deadline for referrals to Reading University 2025 is May 24th