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Presenter tells education committee vision‑tracking checks could identify and remediate reading problems
Summary
Mary Mahalka told the House Committee on Education about a low‑cost vision‑tracking screening and short remediation exercises she said can improve reading and classroom behavior for students with binocular‑vision difficulties. She cited a study of incarcerated adults and juvenile detainees showing high prevalence of tracking problems.
BOISE — At a hearing of the House Committee on Education, Mary Mahalka, a former teacher and reading‑intervention advocate, told lawmakers a simple, low‑cost vision‑tracking screening and short training exercises can correct underlying visual problems that interfere with reading and classroom attention.
“We are failing to meet the needs of children to develop effective reading and comprehension skills,” Mahalka told the committee. She cited the National Center for Education’s reading assessment showing only about 31 percent of fourth‑grade students nationwide reading at or above proficiency and said Idaho follows…
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