For decades now, researchers and practitioners have known that many children succeed in reading over the first few years of school only to experience a "4th grade slump," setting them on course for years of academic and personal struggle.
Frustrated and discouraged, hundreds of thousands of those students drop out every year. And even among those students who graduate from high school and make plans for college, roughly half, according to recent research by ACT, lack the reading skills needed to do well in a typical first year college course.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Education's 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress known as NAEP, or "the Nation's Report Card", fewer than a third of 8th graders read and write at a proficient level. As the demand for new literacies grow, so does the urgency for the discussion and action needed to improve adolescent l iteracy instruction.
The good news? America's adolescent literacy challenge has finally begun to receive the attention it so urgently deserves. Across the country, momentum is building behind efforts to help all students develop the kinds of advanced literacy skills that the present times demand. The Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy has recently released its much-anticipated report synthesizing a five year long research and action agenda for making adolescent literacy a national priority.
The 108-page report, Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Readiness, draws on more than five years of research and collaboration by 12 of the nation’s top literacy experts. The report urges school leaders to make literacy a top priority for all students in their schools; hire teachers who are able to teach literacy across all disciplines; encourage professional development activities that assist teachers in building and improving on their literacy teaching skills; and provide opportunities for teachers to examine and discuss data and assessments of their student’s progress in reading and writing.
Time to Act is released with five corresponding reports, which delve deeper into how to advance literacy and learning for all students, including such topics as the cost of implementing adolescent literacy programs and reading in the disciplines:
- Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy, by Carol D. Lee Ph.D. and Anika Spratley, Northwestern University
- Adolescent Literacy Development in Out of School Time: A Practitioner's Guide,http://blog.reading.org/archives/003203.html by Elizabeth Birr Moje and Nicole Tysvaer, University of Michigan
- Measure for Measure: A Critical Consumer's Guide to Reading Comprehension Assessments for Adolescents, by Leila Morsey, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Michael Kieffer, Teachers College, Columbia University; Catherine Snow, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Adolescent Literacy Programs: Costs of Implementation, by Henry M. Levin, Doran Catlin, and Alex Elson, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Adolescent Literacy and Textbooks: An Annotated Bibliography, by Michael Kamil, Stanford University
As you consider the report findings, recommendations, and impact potential for your schools and classrooms, I invite you to join me for a conversation with the panel members on October 19 from 4-5 pm ET. Panel members will be highlighting the major themes and outcomes of their findings and welcome your input and suggestions as they move forward in their recommendations.
DO NOT MISS THIS CHANCE to be involved. Register Today — it's free. If you are unable to join us live, submit any questions that you have for the panel members here or to me via Twitter at @angelamaiers. The session will be recorded and archived as well.
Special Thanks to Steve Hargadon and the folks at Learn Central for helping make this possible.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=47d73ea4-996e-4864-a304-d03b50f29ae6)
