Beat 3rd Grade Retention by Improving Reading Comprehension

Beat 3rd Grade Retention by Improving Reading Comprehension

When a parent is told that their child is at risk of being retained, their initial response is often full of emotion.  Frustration, anxiety and even guilt are felt.  We can relate to that.  As parents and Directors of 3D Learner, we strongly encourage parents to take a proactive approach to helping your child succeed.  At 3D Learner our goals are to:

  • Help parents realize that third grade retention risks are not your fault. 
  • There are a number go Good Cause Exemptions to help your child to avoid third grade retention and to be promoted
  • Help you be an Informed, Empowered and Proactive parents who:
    • Work together to help your child to be promoted
    • Understands the depth of your child’s reading comprehension and related issues
    • Becomes even more aware of your child’s strengths and challenges
    • Partners with your child’s school and the right outside professionals to help your child to make significant gains in their reading comprehension and processing skills, so they are promoted and are much more successful in 4th grade and beyond

If your child is at risk for third grade retention or grade retention in any grade, we encourage you to join us for a presentation on March 13th at 9 pm on:

How to Beat Third Grade Retention or Other Grade Retention Risks by
Improving
Reading Comprehension
Click here to register or

Call us at 561-361-7495 to discuss your situation or click here to schedule a
Beat Third Grade Retention by Improving Reading Comprehension Conversation

As one mom said, “How is it that after 5 minutes, you appear to understand my son’s strengths and challenges better than people who have known him for years?”  

Our advantage is we have been helping bright right brain learners succeed for 27 years.

 

5 Key Points About Third Grade Retention

1-    There are a number of Good Cause Exemptions that can be utilized to help a child to be promoted.  The Florida Department of Education has created a valuable Read to Learn Document that can help you understand your options.

2-     Most students facing third grade retention are 1, 1.5 or even 2 years below grade level in reading comprehension.  If their reading comprehension issue is not addressed, the student is likely to struggle even more in 4th grade. After 3rd Grade, students are expected to READ TO LEARN; there is no more emphasis on reading instruction in the general classroom.  That is the time when math, social studies and science require students to understand what they read.  It is also a time when the print gets smaller, the pictures disappear and students with reading comprehension really struggle.  Conversely, students who make significant reading comprehension gains by 4th grade have done much better.

3-     In a small number of cases, third grade retention is right for a child. The child does not have sufficient all-around foundational skills to succeed in 4th grade. These might include cases where the child has a late summer birthday, they may have learning and attention challenges, and they would be better off not being promoted.  This past year, we helped a few students where parents chose to homeschool their child, have a catch-up year, and make the decision about promotion later.  In Florida, the Florida Empowerment Scholarship provides parents whose child has a qualifying disability to get around $10,000 a year that can be used for tutoring.  For other students, there is a Personalized Education Program scholarship for $8000 that can be used for tutoring.

4-     Many students facing third grade retention are right brain, kinesthetic or neurodivergent learners, who learn differently than the way most schools teach.  These kids learn best when they see and experience information.  They may also have dyslexia and/or working memory, processing speed, attention and/or visual processing issues.  

5-     By capitalizing on your child’s strengths and addressing their challenges, it is often possible to both beat third grade retention and to position your child to be far more successful in 4th grade and beyond.

Note, we have helped third graders to:

  • Beat third grade retention and score well above grade level by 4th grade
  • Improve their reading comprehension by 3 grade levels in a year

A year later his teacher commented, “He made more progress in a year than any student I have had in 27 years of teaching”

  • Improve their academic and athletic skills, boost their self-esteem and lower their anxiety

If your child is at risk for third grade retention or grade retention in any grade, we encourage you to join us for a presentation on March 13th at 9 pm where we will be discussing:

How to Beat Third Grade Retention or Other Grade Retention Risks by
Improving
Reading Comprehension
Click here to register or

Call us at 561-361-7495 to discuss your situation or click here to schedule a
Beat Third Grade Retention by Improving Reading Comprehension Conversation

How to beat third grade retention, or any grade retention

How to beat third grade retention, or any grade retention

Why would your bright, creative child be at risk for third grade retention or any grade retention? If your child is a neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner (i.e. sometimes referred to as a hands-on learner or visual learner) they are behind due to their learning differences, executive function challenges and pandemic related challenges, even if they were in preschool.

Third grade retention is more likely to be a risk with mandatory retention rules, but students in early grades are at risk for grade retention too.

The good news is that if your child is a smart struggling neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner, they can often make significant gains in reading fluency and reading comprehension in months with our strength-based training.

We know that most smart struggling students:

  • Are a neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner (hands-on) who can do far better with experiential learning that leverages their strengths
  • Have some combination of working memory, processing speed, visual processing, attention, and/or anxiety challenges
  • Are far smarter than present results would indicate

At 3D Learner, we have helped many students to:

  • Beat grade retention and score at, above, or even well above grade level on tests
  • Rediscover their natural love of learning
  • Improve their working memory, processing speed, and self-esteem
  • Improve their attention and emotional regulation

 

3D Learner can help the neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner beat third grade retention or other grade retention by making significant gains in reading fluency and reading comprehension in months. 3D Learner’s comprehensive educational assessment reveals important issues that many other assessments miss.  For instance, one parent had a recent psycho-educational test that indicated her daughter had an attention, working memory and processing speed issue. After her daughter completed our assessment, she was surprised to learn that her daughter:

  1. Was a neurodivergent, right brain and/or kinesthetic learner (hands-on)
  2. Was a lot smarter than present results would indicate
  3. Had a significant visual processing issue,  skipping words and lines when reading
  4. Struggled with small words, reading fluency, reading comprehension, and sequencing
  5. Had significant attention and emotional regulation issues
  6. Was very strong in 5 of the 11 skills we assessed — she had a great visual memory, was very creative and had a larger vocabulary than most
  7. But she had a real problem with the small words that often change the meaning of a sentence (i.e. words like the, but, what, if) and had significant anxiety challenges

By understanding how she learned best, we developed an engaging, personalized program built around her strengths and interests. In just months. 3D Learner helped her score above grade level on the standardized test. When they saw these results, the parents asked “Why do schools not teach the way the neurodivergent learner learns best?”  We explained that schools, like most learning centers, focus on a child’s weaknesses.

Schools often do not:

  • Leverage the student’s strengths and interests
  • Identify and address issues like working memory, visual processing, or processing speed
  • Ignite a love for learning, which is an essential part of the 3D Learner Experiential Learning Process.

Her daughter made great progress and was actually in the highest reading group the following year.

 

We see grade retention risks as a great opportunity for parents to make a true life-long difference in their child’s learning.

If you have a child in any elementary school grade who is struggling in school, 3D Learner can help. To discuss your child’s learning style and needs, call us at 561-361-7495.

Frequently asked questions about grade retention & the neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner

Question: What is the key reason for third grade retention and for earlier grade retention?
Answer: In Florida public and charter schools, third grade retention is primarily based on the student’s inability to do well on the English Language Assessment.  While anxiety may be an issue, significant reading comprehension issues are often the primary issue.  In the earlier  grades, reading fluency is often the criteria for grade retention.  At 3D Learner, we identify and address both reading fluency and reading comprehension issues.

Question: If many students at risk for grade retention are a neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner, why do the schools not teach this way?
Answer: Schools tend to have a one size fits all approach.  There has been a real push towards phonics and phonemic awareness.  Unfortunately, this does not provide the experiential learning most right brain or visual learners need.  Even worse, we have seen smart and even gifted learners face grade retention because their needs were not met.

Question: Many programs focus on phonics and phonemic awareness.  What are the key skills the neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner needs to master before phonics will work?
Answer Word recognition and sight word vocabulary are two of the skills needed before phonics will work. Processing speed, working memory, and attention are also skills that must be mastered.

Question: Experiential learning used to be the norm in kindergarten, first and second grade.  What happened?
Answer: If that were still the case, the neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner would be more likely to thrive.  The challenge today is that many of the standards are not age appropriate.  This results in less experiential learning, which negatively impacts the neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner and makes grade retention more likely.

Question Is it too late in the school year to help beat third grade retention or any grade retention?
Answer It is almost never too late to beat third grade retention or grade retention.  The rules on third grade retention in Florida provide many ways to beat third grade retention. The best one is to score a Level 2 on the state assessment. There are also ways to be retested at the end of the summer or at the start of the next school year.

Question: I am not sure if my child is a neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner  or what issues are holding my child back.  I fear third grade retention.  Is there a way to talk with your team and to assess my child?

Here is a no cost screening tool you can use to see if your child might be a neurodivergent, right brain or kinesthetic learner.

Answer: You can call us at 561-361-7495 or click here to schedule a How to beat Third Grade Retention or other Grade Retention risks Conversation

10 Questions on How to Improve Reading Comprehension and Reading Fluency, While Lowering Anxiety

10 Questions on How to Improve Reading Comprehension and Reading Fluency, While Lowering Anxiety

In this post pandemic era, more students are further behind in reading comprehension than one would normally suspect.  Over the last few weeks, we have gotten calls from parents in grades 1 to 9, where the parents are quite concerned.  Their child is struggling in reading and often with anxiety.  The parents have often have previously tried other interventions to improve reading comprehension and reading fluency including:

  • Traditional tutoring
  • Learning centers
  • Dyslexia treatments
  • School based interventions

Parents are being told:

  • Grade retention is a possibility in the earlier grades
  • The private school their child is at may not be right for their child or in several cases
  • The parents are not being told anything, but their child is struggling more this year and they know the problem is likely to get worse
  • By a psychologist that their child has dyslexia, learns differently and has working memory issues and needs a program that addresses the whole child

What research has told us is that:

  • Almost 90 percent of the 1st graders will be poor readers in 4th grade
  • 74 percent of the students with a reading disability (dyslexia) in 3rd grade will still have a reading disability (dyslexia) in 12th grade
  • 45 percent of the students with a learning disability in middle and high school are 3 to 4.9 years below grade level in reading comprehension and 21% are more than 5 years below grade level in reading comprehension.

 

If your child is struggling with reading fluency and/or reading comprehension, there is a significant chance the problems will persist and worsen.  Our goal is to help you to get to the root causes of your child’s challenges and to help you lay out a Pathway to Success for your child.

In the press and online, there is a great deal of focus on dyslexia.  Dyslexia is when a student has trouble with reading fluency — that is they do not read efficiently or effectively.  Having two kids with dyslexia and helped hundreds of students with dyslexia, we know the problem is real, but we also know that:

  • While a dyslexia diagnosis and dyslexia treatment are helpful, it often does not translate directly into better reading comprehension
  • Most students with dyslexia:
    • Have difficulty with rapidly naming letters and words
    • Learn differently — they often learn best when they see and experience information and are what we call a right brain learner
    • Have a visual processing issue
    • Have executive function issues (e.g. attention, working memory and processing speed)
    • Struggling with anxiety and/or frustration
    • Have a significant problem with reading comprehension, that is often not addressed with a dyslexia program
  • Informed, empowered and proactive parents can make the difference

Before embarking on a significant effort, we recommend considering the following ten questions:

  1. What is your child’s present level of reading fluency and does your child have dyslexia
  2. What is your child’s present level of reading comprehension
  3. What is your child’s present level of anxiety/frustration
  4. If your child was going to be very successful over the next 6 months — what 3 to 5 goals would you set?  Be sure to include a personal goal for something they love to do – -baseball, dance, horseback riding etc.
  5. Is your child a bright right brain kinesthetic learner, who learns best when he or she sees and experiences information
  6. Does your child have a visual processing issue
  7. Does your have executive function problems
  8. Is anxiety or frustration a major issue for your child
  9. What can your child’s school do to help
  10. What can you do to help your child to be all he or she can be in the next 6 months

On Monday evening November 6th at 9 pm,
we will be discussing these questions,
with a focus on how to improve reading comprehension and reading fluency, while reducing anxiety for your child

Click here to register for the webinar

Before watching this webinar, we recommend you download the two screening tools below, and answer the questions.  This are designed to answer the questions.

The answers to these two questions are really helpful in your understanding your child, your explaining to their teachers who your child is and in finding the right solution to help your child succeed.

 

To discuss your child’s challenges and potential for significant improvement,
you can either call us at 561-361-7495 or click here to
schedule a how to improve reading comprehension and reading fluency, while reducing anxiety conversation

How To Avoid Third Grade Retention and Other Grade Retention Risks. Improve Reading Comprehension and Executive Function Skills

How To Avoid Third Grade Retention and Other Grade Retention Risks. Improve Reading Comprehension and Executive Function Skills

For immediate help call us at 561-361-7495 or join us May 2nd for our Beat Grade Retention Webinar

There is a Silver Lining to Avoid Third Grade Retention and Other Grade Retention Risks

“Your child is at risk of third grade retention”, was the note from her daughter’s school.  Mom was not happy.  She called a friend who suggested she contact 3D Learner.  She immediately called us and we asked the following questions:

  • Does your child learn best when he sees and experiences information?
  • Does your child skip words and lines when reading?
  • Does your child lose focus when reading or taking tests?
  • Does your child read slowly?
  • Is your child a lot smarter than her present reading comprehension level would indicate?

Her answers were yes to all the questions, and she commented that it was like we knew her daughter.  

The friend had told her that we had helped her child increase her reading comprehension to above grade level and her daughter was reading above grade level on her 4th grade test.  She wanted to know if that was possible for her child. We explained that that is our goal.

The good news is that her daughter beat third grade retention, scored above grade level in 4th and 5th grades after working hard and completing the 3D Learner Program ®. She continues to do well in middle school.

We have helped many students beat both third grade retention and grade retention in the earlier grades.

We have a three-pronged strategy:

  1. Provide the student and the parent with strategies to produce better test results with exercises to reduce stress, recommendations on sleep and diet, how to make sure your child gets the accommodations that are prescribed in an IEP or 504 Plan, and how to talk to your child to reduce their stress and boost their confidence.  Click here for a video we created with “Strategies to reduce your child’s stress and anxiety”.  
  2. We understand all the Good Cause Exemptions that can be used to avoid third grade retention.   
  3. Significantly improve reading comprehension and test scores by:
      • Capitalizing on how our students learn best.  Most of our students are bright right brain kinesthetic learners, who do far better with our engaging and effective hands-on learning
      • Identifying and addressing visual processing issues, where needed.  Over 70 percent of the students we test either skip words and lines when reading and/or read slowly
      • Identifying the executive function skills that are impacting a student’s performance.  This might include attention, working memory and/or processing speed
      • Addressing the relevant decoding, phonemic awareness and reading fluency challenges, whether or not a child has dyslexia
      • Teaching the student visualization skills to relate and understand what they are reading
      • We strive to ignite a love for learning
      • Systematically improving reading comprehension levels — often by 2 grade levels over 3 to 6 months

This visual explains the 3D Learner Process

Most students at risk for third grade retention or any other grade retention are often a right brain kinesthetic learner and often struggle with visual processing, executive function deficits, dyslexia and/or anxiety.  The best way to help these students is to significantly improve their reading comprehension and test scores by capitalizing on their strengths, addressing their challenges and building their self-esteem and confidence.

 

If your child is facing third grade retention or any grade retention and you would like help,
   Call us at 561-361-7495 for a no cost conversation, or
   Click here to find a mutually agreeable time on our schedule for a
Avoid Grade Retention Conversation


We encourage you to join us on May 2nd at 8:30 pm for a
Beat Third Grade Retention and Other Grade Retention Risks.  

We will provide an explanation of why many students are retained and how parents can help their child to beat grade retention.  

To register for the event, click on Avoid Grade Retention Webinar.


Background Information on Third Grade Retention & Other Grade Retention

Mandatory third grade retention is a key strategy some states use.  Sometimes this results in schools using grade retention in earlier grades.  The theory is that students need to be on grade level by the end of third grade in order to succeed.  In states like Florida, third grade retention laws have been in place for over 20 years.  The short-term benefits from grade retention tend to dissipate over time.  As a parent, if your child is facing grade retention, the pressure is real — on both your child and you.

Note, most students at risk for grade retention are right brain kinesthetic learners, who can significantly improve their reading comprehension skills with a strength-based approach.

5 points for parents to consider:

  1. There are many ways to avoid third grade retention and grade retention in earlier grades.  In Florida, there are a number of good cause exemptions to third grade retention.  Here is a link to a Florida Department of Education document that describes the options.
  2. Note, there are some parents who are focused on having students opt out of the end of year testing. One word of caution: the easiest path to promotion is to get a Level 2 on the last test given in May. It requires your child to be at about the 20th percentile.  If you opt out, all the other options are harder to achieve.
  3. Encourage parents to get more help, so their child no longer struggles.
    Note, virtually all students at risk for grade retention are well below grade level in reading comprehension.
  4. To provide an option where the goal is to help your child to become Outrageously Successful in months by improving reading comprehension, executive functions skills and reducing anxiety.
  5. To encourage those who would like more information to

Join us on Tuesday night May 2nd for a Webinar on

Parents Guide to Avoid Grade Retention and
Help Your Child Be Outrageously Successful

To register for the event, click on Avoid Grade Retention Webinar

 

If you need immediate help, 
a)  Please contact us directly by calling 561-361-7495
b) Clicking here to schedule a Zoom meeting at a mutually agreeable time for a
Beat Grade Retention Conversation

Grade Retention Can Often Be Avoided

Grade Retention Can Often Be Avoided

Getting to Grade Level or Above Can Often Be Achieved with the Right Intervention

Avoiding grade retention is a priority for almost every parent where a child is at risk for being retained.   COVID Learning Losses have left many students further behind than they otherwise would have been.  Three key points about students at risk for grade retention:

  • Their reading comprehension is often well below grade level.  For third grade retention, the year many students are retained, students are often over a year and sometimes two years below grade level in reading comprehension.  For the bright right brain kinesthetic learner, grade retention is a risk because they do not learn the way the schools teach.   This includes students with high and even gifted IQs.  These kids learn best when they see and experience information.  They need a different approach to reach their full potential.
  • Beating grade retention does not require getting to grade level.  In Florida public and charter schools, it often requires a student to be at Level 2 on the benchmark assessments — approximately the 20th percentile.  In the first part of this blog, we will discuss strategies to Beat Grade Retention.  Note, opting out of the state mandated assessments increases the chances of a child being retained.  The other options for promotion are harder to achieve.
  • Over the last 20 years 3D Learner has helped many bright right brain kinesthetic learners to beat grade retention by significantly improving their reading, reading comprehension, attention and working memory and so much more.  These are students who often:

Have excellent memories for places they have visited, even from years ago

Learn best when they see and experience information

Are much smarter than present results would indicate

Note, half of these students had been diagnosed with dyslexia or learning disabilities and half did not. In the second part of this blog, we will discuss how to get your child to grade level or above.

 

Beating Grade Retention with a Collaborative Approach

The Florida Department of Education has an excellent page that provides valuable information for third grade parents on this subject.  Below are several ways they describe to beat third grade retention:

  • Getting a Level 2 on the third grade FSA requires a score of 285.  Here is a packet on the FSA from the Florida Department of Education.  The scoring chart is on page 3.  
  • Passing a portfolio.  Every parent whose child is at risk for grade retention has the right to immediately ask that a portfolio be started.
  • An end of year exam
  • An end of July exam
  • Having your child reading at grade level when school starts in the fall

If you have not already done so, we strongly recommend meeting with your child’s teacher and asking:

  1. What is my child’s present level of performance on your assessments?
  2. Is my child at risk for grade retention at this time?
  3. If your child is at risk for third grade retention, have they started a portfolio, where is your child at, and how can you help?  If they have not started a portfolio, ask them to do so immediately.  
  4. What can be done to reduce the risk of grade retention – adding that you are willing to do your fair share and more.

We had a mom recently who tried this approach and within days she saw a change in how both the teacher and she herself were now focused on her child’s success.

If your child is at risk for grade retention at any school and you want some guidance we offer a no cost Beat Grade Retention conversation.
We offer this no cost conversation for all parents.  To speak with us:

Call us at 561-361-7495 or
–  Click here to schedule a no cost Beat Grade Retention for Your Child Conversation

 

The Silver Lining in Grade Retention — Focus on Getting Your Child’s Reading Comprehension to Grade Level or Above

Over the years, parents have had very different approaches including:
I want to do everything possible to reduce the risk of grade retention
If grade retention is a risk, I may move my child to private school or homeschool

3D Learner adds a third option:
How you can significantly improve your child’s reading comprehension and other skills so that promotion is virtually certain, and your child gets to grade level or above in the relevant skills.  This approach also positions your child to do very well in the future.

Note, with the more rigorous standards now in place, a student who is struggling in the present grade is likely to do even worse in the next grade.  The time to act is NOW!!!

We had a case where the teacher said the student was virtually certain to be retained.  With our help, the student scored above grade level on the end of year exam and was in advanced classes within 2 years.

We also had a case where the 1st grade teacher told the parent the child was going to be retained.  They invested in our program in April.  At a mid-May meeting,  the mom asked the teacher about grade retention.  The teacher responded, “There is no way he will be retained given his progress over the last six weeks”.

All our successes started with a parent calling us to discuss the possibilities.  For immediate help, either:

Call us at 561-361-7495 or
–  Click here to schedule a no cost Beat Grade Retention for Your Child Conversation

 

Grade Retention and The Bright Right Brain Kinesthetic Learner

We know that most smart struggling students who are facing grade retention risks:

  • Are a right-brain, visual or kinesthetic learners (hands-on) who can do far better with experiential learning that leverages their strengths
  • Have some combination of working memory, processing speed, visual processing, attention, and/or anxiety challenges
  • Often have a visual processing issue — where they read slowly and/or skip words and lines when reading

Note: Dyslexia or learning disabilities may or not be present

Beating Grade Retention and Preparing Your Child for Future Success Can Best Be Done by Leveraging Your Child’s Strengths and Identifying and Addressing Their Challenges

  • Are much smarter than present results would indicate

At 3D Learner, we have helped many students to:

  • Beat grade retention by improving their reading and reading comprehension 
  • Rediscover their natural love of learning
  • Improve their working memory, processing speed, and self-esteem
  • Improve their attention and emotional regulation
  • Achieve far greater success than their parents even thought possible

Our programs can help the right brain, visual learner or kinesthetic learner to beat grade retention and to make significant gains in months.  3D Learner’s comprehensive educational assessment reveals important issues that many other assessments miss. 


For instance, one parent had a recent psycho-educational test that indicated her daughter had dyslexia, attention, working memory and processing speed issues. After her daughter completed our assessment, she was surprised to learn that her daughter:

  1. Was a right brain, visual learner or kinesthetic learner 
  2. Was a lot smarter than present results would indicate
  3. Had a significant visual processing issue, skipping words and lines when reading
  4. Struggled with reading comprehension and sequencing
  5. Had significant attention and emotional regulation issues
  6. Was very strong in 5 of the 11 skills we assessed — she had a great visual memory, was very creative and had a larger vocabulary than most
  7. But she had a real problem with the small words that often change the meaning of a sentence (i.e. words like the, but, what, if)

Parents often ask, “What makes you so different?”

Our approach is far different.  We:

  • Leverage the student’s strengths and interests
  • Identify and address issues like working memory, visual processing, or processing speed
  • Strive to ignite a love for learning, which is an essential part of the 3D Learner Experiential Learning Process
  • Help parents to be the coach and advocate their child needs 

Below are questions parents have asked us about grade retention:

Question: Is it too late in the school year to help beat grade retention?
Answer: It is almost never too late to beat grade retention.  The right brain or kinesthetic learner can often make significant gains in months not years, with the right experiential learning.

Question: I am not sure if my child is a right brain, visual learner, or kinesthetic learner or what issues are holding my child back.  I fear grade retention. Is there a way to talk with your team and to assess my child?
Answer:  Click here to download “Is my child a right brain, visual or kinesthetic learner” screening tool.     

Question:  Does grade retention help or hurt a child   
Answer:    The research on this subject is mixed.  Students often do better the following year, because they are repeating a grade.  Any benefit often vanishes by middle school. 

Question:  Are there cases where grade retention may help a child?
Answer:    Yes.  When a student is one of the youngest in their class and has ADHD, the extra year in third grade might help

All our successes started with a parent calling us to discuss the possibilities.  For immediate help, either:

Call us at 561-361-7495 or
–  Click here to schedule a no cost Beat Grade Retention for Your Child Conversation

Beat Third Grade Retention with the Right Interventions

Beat Third Grade Retention with the Right Interventions

Third Grade Retention is a major issue in Florida.  This blog post is written specifically for Florida, but many of the points may be applicable elsewhere.  What differentiates 3D Learner from others is:

  • We have seen the third grade retention risk be the catalyst for parental action that significantly improved their child’s reading comprehension and igniting a love for learning, while reducing anxiety
  • Virtually every third grader we help gets promoted and enters fourth grade far better prepared to succeed
  • We understand the system and will provide you with the best possible advice
  • Our initial goal is to help parents to understand why your child is struggling, how they can succeed and how you can make the difference
  • Our long term goal for those who chose to work with us is to:
    • Significantly improve your child’s reading comprehension
    • Ignite a love for reading and learning
    • Identify and address the relevant:
      • Working memory, processing speed and/or attention challenges – these are often referred to as executive function issues
      • Visual processing, motor planning and/or anxiety issues
    • Help you with school choice decisions and to get the best possible help from your child’s school
    • Help you to be the coach and advocate your child needs

Several key points to consider before making a decision about third grade retention or other options:

  • We recommend talking with your child’s teacher.  They may already have gotten your child to the point where they can be promoted or they can share their perspective
  • Private school or home school options rarely address the underlying reading comprehension, executive function, visual processing and/or related issues.
  • Your child may not be ready for 4th grader yet and you may want to …
  • Consider an outside intervention.  Even if you are considering private or homeschool options, the right intervention can prepare your child for success in 4th grade and beyond

A parent or professional can contact us for a no cost Beat Third Grade Retention conversation
Call us at 561-361-7495 or

Find a mutually agreeable time on our schedule by clicking on our
Beat Third Grade Retention conversation

Many students at risk for third-grade retention are a Right Brain Learner with Executive Function, Visual Processing  and related challenges. 

A child who scored a Level 1 on the third grade English Language Assessment and if facing third grade retention, often is:

  • A right brain learner, who learns best when he or she sees and experiences information.  This is not the way schools tend to teach and the right brain learner is often far smarter than their present level of reading comprehension would indicate
  •  Struggling with Executive Function challenges.  These might include problems with working memory, processing speed and/or attention
  • Skipping words and lines when reading — what we call visual processing issues

At 3D Learner, we have helped many students to beat third grade retention by:

  • Teaching the way the student learns best
  • Identifying and addressing their executive function, visual processing and/or related challenges
  • Significantly improving their reading comprehension and igniting a love for learning

Most  students at risk for third-grade retention are 1.5 to 2 years below grade level in reading comprehension.  To beat third-grade retention and prepare your child for Fourth Grade Success, it is critical to improve your child’s reading comprehension.

Note: 3D Learner has helped many students make significant gains to both beat third grade retention and to be far better prepared for 4th grade and beyond.

A couple of examples of our student’s progress:

  • A student got a Level 1 on the Third Grade English Language Assessment and with our help he got a Level 4, above grade level score, on his 4th grade English Language Assessment
  • Another student improved his reading comprehension three grade levels between third and fourth grade and his teacher said, “Thomas made more progress than any student I have had in 27 years of teaching”.

A parent or professional can contact us for a no cost Beat Third Grade Retention conversation
Call us at 561-361-7495 or

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Beat Third Grade Retention conversation

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