U.S. 4th-graders losing ground on literacy
Those of us who are concerned about literacy standards in our nation received little in the way of comfort this week when the results came out on the Progress in International Reading Literacy test. It showed that our fourth-graders have lost ground in reading ability compared with children around the world.
The test results showed that our students scored about the same as they did in 2001, the last time the test was given. However, at that time, only three countries were ahead of the United States. Now, ten countries or jurisdictions were ahead of us. These include Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Hungary, Italy and Sweden, along with the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.
Ironically, our relatively poor showing occurred despite the increased emphasis on reading under the No Child Left Behind law and despite the fact that our children get more reading instruction than do those in other countries.
The results send a clear message that there is no benefit to spending more time, money and effort on the methods that currently dominate reading instruction. However, these methods are deeply entrenched and it will take enormous effort and commitment from parents and professionals to make the changes that are needed. Fortunately, parents who are well-informed know that in the interim, they need to be prepared to offer productive programs outside of the regular system.
You can find additional information at http://timss.bc.edu/
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