This essay challenges whether or not the use of district money for Reading Recovery© (RR) instruction is an effective expenditure of funds that results in sustained improvement in student reading outcomes. As a Tier 3 intervention, RR provides expensive, one-on-one tutoring for first- and second-grade readers that is occupying an increasingly larger instructional space across districts. While some studies have shown improvement due to RR, others show these results eventually dissolve. A disturbing trend is advocacy by some RR teachers that RR methods be incorporated into Tier 1 instruction. In this essay we further explore the issues surrounding RR.