Reading Assist serves students in kindergarten through third grade who are struggling to read. Typically, these students are unable to connect letters and their related sounds, which prevents them from decoding words and reading fluently. Reading difficulties like these will affect about 20% of all students in any classroom, and severely impact about 5% of all students in any school.

Additionally, low-income and minority children have a greater likelihood of facing reading challenges. In Delaware, only 22% of Hispanic students and 16% of Black students state-wide are proficient in reading by fourth grade.

Schools with higher populations of low-income students and English language learners are often more challenged to provide the level of intervention their students need.