"America has arrived at a literacy crisis," the U.S. Department of Education now acknowledges. One third of Oklahoma's 4th graders cannot read at even a basic level — they cannot comprehend a simple paragraph in a children's story. The numbers are even worse for minority students: a staggering two thirds of our black 4th graders, and half of our Hispanic 4th graders, cannot read at a basic level.

Many of these children, thinking there's something wrong with them, will go through life with unspeakable distress. As their frustration mounts, many will slide into delinquent behavior. And as they grow up to join the more than 400,000 adult illiterates our schools have already produced, many will be destined for welfare or prison.

This massive failure is as unnecessary as it is heartbreaking. "To teach a child to read properly is not difficult," says education author Douglas Wilson. "Local education professionals have made it seem difficult, and the entire process has been shrouded with arcane professional terminology. But the only term that concerned parents need to know and understand is phonics."

Your child needs a strong foundation in phonics. He needs to be taught — in a direct, systematic, and intensive manner — how to match sounds with the letters that spell them.

In the words of world-renowned reading expert Siegfried Engelmann, professor of special education at the University of Oregon: "If your child is not reading by the end of the first grade and is not retarded (IQ below 75), do not accept excuses that blame your child."

Your child can learn to read. Excuses — such as "your child has a learning disability," "your child has emotional problems," "your child is dyslexic," or "your child just isn't ready" — are not acceptable.