When thinking about the challenges faced by today's teachers and students, consider the following statistics:
* Students who don't read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma when compared to proficient readers. The number rises when those kids also come from poverty. - The Annie E. Casey Foundation
* Reading failure rates for African Americans, Hispanics, ELL’s, and those of low socioeconomic status range from 60-70%. - Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science
* The Coalition for Juvenile Justice (2001) reports that 82 percent of prison inmates are high school dropouts, and a very high proportion of them cannot read. - Adolescent Literacy: A National Reading Crisis
* Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure." Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level.
* Twenty percent of elementary students nationwide have significant problems learning to read. - Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science
* Forecasts show that by 2018, 63 percent of all jobs will require at least some post-secondary education. - Georgetown University
* Forecasters have predicted that if static literacy levels continue, by 2030 the entire Literacy Level distribution of the US population will have decreased, creating an American workforce that is unequipped and unskilled to work in the demanding global market. - Educational Testing Service
* It is estimated that the cost of illiteracy to business and the taxpayer is $20 billion per year. - United Way, “Illiteracy: A National Crisis”
The good news is that researchers now estimate that 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. In fact, Reading difficulties for at-risk students can be prevented by literacy instruction that includes a range of research-based components
and practices. An indisputable conclusion of research is that the quality of teaching makes a considerable difference in
children’s learning (The Effective Teacher of Reading, 2007).
The International Reading Association lists the following as qualities of excellent classroom teachers:
1. They understand reading and writing development, and believe all children can learnto read and write.
2. They continually assess children’s individual progress and relate reading instruction to children’s previous experiences.
3. They know a variety of ways to teach reading, when to use each method, and how to combine the methods into an effective instructional program.
4. They offer a variety of materials and texts for children to read.
5. They use flexible grouping strategies to tailor instruction to individual students.
6. They are good reading “coaches” (that is, they provide help strategically).
Additionally, reading research points to a set of common instructional practices associated with effective teachers of reading. These practices include:
1. assessing students’ reading strengths and weaknesses
2. structuring reading activities around an explicit instructional format
3. providing students with opportunities to learn and apply skills and strategies in authentic reading tasks
4. ensuring that students attend to the learning tasks
5. believing in one’s teaching abilities and expecting students to be successful.
* Students who don't read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma when compared to proficient readers. The number rises when those kids also come from poverty. - The Annie E. Casey Foundation
* Reading failure rates for African Americans, Hispanics, ELL’s, and those of low socioeconomic status range from 60-70%. - Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science
* The Coalition for Juvenile Justice (2001) reports that 82 percent of prison inmates are high school dropouts, and a very high proportion of them cannot read. - Adolescent Literacy: A National Reading Crisis
* Illiteracy and crime are closely related. The Department of Justice states, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure." Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level.
* Twenty percent of elementary students nationwide have significant problems learning to read. - Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science
* Forecasts show that by 2018, 63 percent of all jobs will require at least some post-secondary education. - Georgetown University
* Forecasters have predicted that if static literacy levels continue, by 2030 the entire Literacy Level distribution of the US population will have decreased, creating an American workforce that is unequipped and unskilled to work in the demanding global market. - Educational Testing Service
* It is estimated that the cost of illiteracy to business and the taxpayer is $20 billion per year. - United Way, “Illiteracy: A National Crisis”
The good news is that researchers now estimate that 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. In fact, Reading difficulties for at-risk students can be prevented by literacy instruction that includes a range of research-based components
and practices. An indisputable conclusion of research is that the quality of teaching makes a considerable difference in
children’s learning (The Effective Teacher of Reading, 2007).
The International Reading Association lists the following as qualities of excellent classroom teachers:
1. They understand reading and writing development, and believe all children can learnto read and write.
2. They continually assess children’s individual progress and relate reading instruction to children’s previous experiences.
3. They know a variety of ways to teach reading, when to use each method, and how to combine the methods into an effective instructional program.
4. They offer a variety of materials and texts for children to read.
5. They use flexible grouping strategies to tailor instruction to individual students.
6. They are good reading “coaches” (that is, they provide help strategically).
Additionally, reading research points to a set of common instructional practices associated with effective teachers of reading. These practices include:
1. assessing students’ reading strengths and weaknesses
2. structuring reading activities around an explicit instructional format
3. providing students with opportunities to learn and apply skills and strategies in authentic reading tasks
4. ensuring that students attend to the learning tasks
5. believing in one’s teaching abilities and expecting students to be successful.