For older students and adults who have fallen behind, learning to read and write can be exponentially more difficult, and the growing number of people who still struggle with reading and writing into high school and adulthood makes it a serious problem. There are concerns.
Data released in recent months shows that K-12 schools are increasingly having older students unable to read at their grade level, in addition to Some international studies have shown that an increasing number of American adults are unable to read text.
“We are really taking a family literacy approach to understand this issue and recognize that this is a multigenerational challenge. , children are also more likely to struggle with reading and writing,” said Sara Casicio, director of the Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network convened by the Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation.
“Socioeconomic status and parental literacy are more important.” […] More than quality instruction, it is an indicator of how well a child will do. Although quality instruction is very important,” Casiccio added. “That’s why it’s so important to address this literacy issue across multiple generations.”
Earlier this month, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Department of Education, released data showing that 28% of U.S. adults rank at the lowest level of literacy (compared to 19% in 2017).
NCES Director Peggy Carr said in a press conference that the increase is “significant.”
Research shows that low literacy rates worsen everything from poverty and health care to lower civic engagement. And while there are programs to help adult learners, time and money concerns can be an issue.
“We connected with people who could enroll in adult education services but had not yet. We found that 80 percent of the adults surveyed did not know about programs available in their area. , 84 % say they want to continue their studies and enroll in the program, which shows that it's not a question of time, but of awareness.We have a lack of awareness about access to free programs, resources and services. I really think that's the biggest barrier, along with cost,” Casicio said.
Federally funded adult education programs “actually serve less than 10 percent of all people who need literacy services,” she added.
The problem of adult literacy is difficult to solve, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. When adults participate in a reading program, they can reach reading levels ranging from third grade to high school senior.
“I think one of the interesting things about adult learning is that you can't really design a standard curriculum,” Casiccio said.
“Some people are looking for work-based learning, and some English learners are looking to learn a specific language or vocabulary that connects them to the workplace,” she added.
And the problem is not limited to adults.
Earlier this year, the Educational Testing Service and the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund released a study showing that more than 20 percent of students in grades 5 through 7 stumble over words they don't recognize or can't pronounce. Experts aim for children to be able to read proficiently at their own level by third grade.
Over the summer, the education company NWEA released data showing that 8th graders are a full year behind in reading and math.
“So fourth grade is when you start to see big gaps in reading comprehension, and in many cases, these comprehension gaps are actually due to more fundamental skills that students aren't getting with phonics instruction. Either they don't have the background knowledge to understand the text, or they just haven't been taught comprehension strategies,” says Erin, vice president of literacy and content at Reading Is Fundamental. Bailey said.
Students struggling with reading have become a top concern, with several states switching to reading science for younger students to help them meet standards before they graduate third grade.
The problem when students fall behind is that teachers in higher grades aren't trained to help students with the basics of reading.
“For most students, in most places around 6th grade, and certainly by 8th grade, unless there is data showing that they are in intervention or need additional services, students do not have a reading teacher. Not anymore. But for the vast majority of kids, they're not in reading class anymore,” said Mia Daughter, vice president of content advocacy at NWEA.
“The average English teacher is no more prepared to teach reading than the average physics teacher. English teachers don't go to school to learn how to teach reading. They don't go to school to learn how to teach reading. are going to school to learn how to teach humanities in English,” Doughty said.
This leads to a common reading comprehension problem among older students and adults: they lack the context and background knowledge to understand the text in front of them.
“We have a wide range of youth, young adults, who are still growing in their reading journey, from non-readers to beginning readers to book readers and even book readers like me. , there are adults who are good at reading, but still need help with technical and scientific books, and for most people it's a wonder that they can actually learn how to read. It's an organ of the body,” Doughty said.
