As a member of the International Literacy Association (ILA @ www.literacyworldwide.org), I have access to national and international reading trends at various grade levels. In addition to this information, researchers in the education field with specific interests in the area of literacy, share strategies, lessons and ideas implemented in classrooms across the country that empower young readers. This past week, I was intrigued by the ILA’s response to The Nation’s Report Card @ www.nationsreportcard.gov (2018), which provides graphs and statistics to show how students fare, overall, with reading proficiency. Overall, nationally, we have flat-lined in this area with no major improvements for the past decade. Unfortunately, the inequalities are most evident in schools where mostly African American, Latino and international students attend.
Why is this the case? According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the NAEP, this is the case due to systematic misalignment (ILA, 2018). Essentially, All involved in the school system, especially teachers and principals must have an intentional plan to change the course of student reading proficiency levels. Although there is no “…singular solution…”(ILA, 2018) in remedying our flat-lined reading scores, focused attention on curriculum, content and grade-level texts can have a major impact on student interest and ultimately an improved report card.
As an English teacher and reading specialist, this information is most important for informing my teaching goals. The following are ways in which I plan on instructing with the NAEP report in mind:
- Allow students the autonomy to select reading materials throughout the year
- Independent reading projects during at least one term in the school year
- Share novels, short stories and poems that have made an impact on my life and ask students to do the same
- Focus more on end goal curriculum planning
- What should students know by the end of their four years in school?
- What should students know by the end of the year?
- Embrace other content areas to inform instruction
- Connect the background information of a focal text with what is learned in other academic courses
- Collaborate with colleagues across disciplines
The ILA’s report is correct in stating that there is no singular solution to improving overall student reading proficiency (ILA, 2018). We can begin, however, through intentional systematic approaches that aim to serve the student demographic struggling most. If, through research, it is discovered that a particular demographic is achieving at a higher percentage than the nation’s overall report, we should also be willing to adopt that particular demographics’ strategies. All in all, we must “Wake Up” as the late Teddy Pendergrass suggests:
What are your thoughts regarding the Nation’s reading report card? I’m looking forward to your subscription and comments….