Should Children Be Reading Proficiently When they Enter School?

According to In Session, Zach Wamp seems to think so. He says that "Our children are not entering proficiently when they enter school." Well, duh! Is he blaming this on the parents or is he just pushing another taxpayer-funded babysitting service? In my personal experience, most kids do not read proficiently when they enter school. I don't recall a single kid in my kindergarten class that could read proficiently when they entered school. If we are requiring children to be able to read proficiently by the time they reach school, why do we even need public schools?

I suppose Zach Wamp considers himself a successful individual. I suppose he thinks he "turned out alright." I dare one of you wimpy members of the media to ask him if he could read proficiently when he entered school.

UPDATE: Kay Brooks weighs in.