Why Millions Of Kids Can’t Read, And What Better Teaching Can Do About It

Why millions of kids can’t read, and what better teaching can do about it

Many educators do not learn the science of reading.

The Notebook: 1.02.2019 by Emily Hanford

Jack Silva didn’t know anything about how children learn to read. What he did know was that a lot of students in his district were struggling.

Silva is the chief academic officer for Bethlehem, Pa., public schools. In 2015, only 56 percent of 3rd graders were scoring proficient on the state reading test. That year, he set out to do something about it.

“It was really looking yourself in the mirror and saying, ‘Which 4 in 10 students don’t deserve to learn to read?’ ” he recalls.

Bethlehem is not an outlier. Across the country, millions of kids are struggling. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 32 percent of 4th graders and 24 percent of 8th graders aren’t reading at a basic level. Less than 40 percent are proficient or advanced.

Educators have long pointed to poverty as an explanation for poor reading performance. Bethlehem, a small city in eastern Pennsylvania that was once a booming steel town, has plenty of low-income residents. But there are fancy homes in Bethlehem, too, and when Silva examined the reading scores, he saw that many students at the wealthier schools weren’t reading very well either.

SEE – literacyspace blog

Why aren't kids being taught to read? 9.10.2018

We Need Phonics, Along With Other Supports, For Reading: 12.18.2018 

Education & School Reports & Statistics

Ongoing
Condition of Education, NCES
Digest of Education Statistics, American education: pre k-graduate school, NCES
Diplomas Count, Education Week
Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States, USDE, IES, NCES
Education Fast Facts, NCES

Homeschooling in the United States, USDE, IES, NCES

Nation's Report Card NAEP – Reading, NCES
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PIRLS
Program for International Student Assessment PISA
Revenues & Expenditures for Public Elem & Secondary School Districts, NCES; USDE;  IES
State of Preschool, NIEER
2017: State of Learning Disabilities, NCLD
2016: Full-Day Kindergarten in the States, Education Comm of the States
2014: Learning Curve, Pearson
2013
Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020,  Georgetown Univ: Center on Education and the Workforce
2011
Double Jeopardy: How 3rd Gr Reading Skills/Poverty Influence HS Graduation, AE Casey Fnd
Education Gap Between Rich & Poor:
   Whither Opportunity?, Russell Sage Foundation
   Gains and Gaps, NBER
2009
Consequences of Dropping Out of High School, Northeastern Univ.
Left Behind in America: The Nation’s Dropout Crisis, Northeastern Univ.
Ready Willing & Unable to Serve: 75% Young Adults Cannot Join Military, Mission Readiness

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Children

Kids and Family Reading Report, Scholastic
Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation
National/State Report Cards – Reading, NCES
State of Preschool, NIEER
2018: Education Leader’s Guide to Reading Growth, Renaissance

2009: Developing Early Literacy, National Early Literacy Panel - NIFL
2003: The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3, American Educator