Dive Brief:
- Many students who fail state-mandated English tests are not able to read regularly or deeply in the classroom about topics that interest them.
- Self-selected reading is important, because it gives students exposure to more vocabulary and topics they aren't otherwise privy to; teachers can help students who don't like to read by allowing them to choose material that appeals to them, allowing them to change their minds when they don't like books and allowing them to read every day in class for at least 10 minutes.
- Reading helps students build vocabularies, understand various sentence structures, and make meaning of multiple choice questions.
Dive Insight:
Literacy is an educational equity issue. Allowing students more choice and direction can certainly help engage those who need it most. A recent report from the Alliance for Excellent Education found nearly half of minority students and students from low-income communities failed to meet basic reading scores on national test data.
"The Next Chapter: Supporting Literacy Within ESEA," the report by the Alliance for Excellent Education, advocates for legislation to boost literacy efforts. Districts can tackle the problem on a local level by placing an increased emphasis on early childhood programs as a way to boost early literacy.
In California, the "30 million word gap" describes the disadvantages faced by impoverished children who grow up hearing 30 million fewer spoken words than their more affluent peers, and in communities like Napa County, CA, children of non-English speaking immigrants are often among those most affected. A new program called Footsteps2Brilliance aims to mitigate the problem.