module 1: unit 3, session 2 module 1: module 1: adolescent reading, writing, and thinking adolescent...

Module 1: Unit 3, Session 2

MODULE 1: ADOLESCENT READING, WRITING, AND THINKING

Adolescent Literacy – Professional DevelopmentUnit 3, Session 2


ADOLESCENT LITERACY:THE CRISIS AND THE SOLUTIONS

1.3.2


The State of Reading, Writ Large

Its importance is heavily emphasized in policy

Considerable attention from the federal government to the details of practice

Lots of funding, relatively speakingFocus on assessments/accountabilityThe scores that count are not improvingDemands for improved literacy outputs are

rising3


What’s the Crisis?

Academic achievement depends on better literacy skills

But the data are alarming:International comparisons of 15 year olds’

literacy: PISA (A. Schleicher)NAEP scoresDropout ratesPostsecondary remediation

4


NAEP 12th Grade Reading Assessment Results

37% of students scored at Basic level & 23% at Below Basic level for reading

Fewer than half of twelfth graders perform at or above the level expected by NAEP standards

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, NAEP 1998 Report Cards, 1999

5


Drop-Out RatesNearly half of African-American and Latino

students fail to graduate from high school in 5 years (Greene & Forster, 2003; Orfield, Losen, Wald, & Swanson, 2004)

High school drop-out rates among 16 to 24 year-olds in 2000:10.9% overall13.1% among African-Americans27.8% among Hispanics

44.2% among immigrants born outside the U.S.15.9% among second (or greater) generation immigrants

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 2000

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Post-Secondary Remediation

Only 30% of high school students graduate as proficient readers who are college-ready (Greene & Forster, 2003).

35 - 40% of high school graduates do not have the sophisticated reading and writing skills that employers seek (Achieve, Inc., 2005; Kaestle et al., 2001; National Commission on Writing, 2004).

Half of all high school graduates or GED recipients exhibit the lowest levels of literacy (Kaestle et al., 2001).

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Two Adolescent Literacy Challenges Dealing with struggling readers

Wide array of skills present in the post-primary classroom

Some students need intensive re-teaching Some need serious remediation All strugglers need help to make up for missed

learning opportunities Teaching normally-developing readers new

skills: New vocabulary and academic language Content-specific literacy skills New purposes for reading

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The Price of Success: Reading Excellence and Reading First

Inoculation has become the default model —focusing efforts exclusively on the early grades

“Research-based practice” can mean we are like the drunk looking under the streetlamp for his keys E.g., we interpret adolescent literacy problems as primary reading problems,

postponed E.g., we implement phonological awareness interventions rather than struggling to

teach comprehension 9


What Can We Learn from Reading Excellence?

10


PRD Starting PointsPrevention, not instruction

primary, secondary, and tertiarystructural as much as instructionalimplies assessment to guide

decisionsEmergent literacy, not readiness Research consensus about

skilled reading 11


PRD Recommendations

Instruction to promote:Language and metalinguistic skillsUnderstanding the functions of

written language Both grasping and mastering the

alphabetic systemMotivation and positive affect

around literacy

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The Accomplishments of Reading Excellence: Agreement that…

Excellent early reading instruction is part of a solid foundation for ongoing achievement.

Investing time in effective teaching and not wasting time on ineffective teaching are key.

Literacy instruction should be coordinated across the preprimary, primary, and later grades.

We can identify and correct weaknesses in early literacy programs.

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Reading FirstFocus on instruction, not preventionMandated use of assessments for

accountability Presumption regarding central role of

teacher/school expectations in influencing student achievement

Perverse incentives regarding high standardsImportant but tricky disaggregation strategyAttention to AYP rather than growth

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National Reading Panel Report Recommendations about Instruction

Phonological awareness (15-18 hrs)

Systematic phonics instruction

Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension strategies

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What’s Missing? For post-primary grades:

Other kinds of comprehension instruction Classroom discussion Content-area-specific literacy skills Writing Motivation and interest Establishing a purpose

for reading

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Reading ComprehensionThe goals of primary reading

instruction are really high school academic achievement.

There is too little focus on comprehension during primary reading instructionAnd too little reading instruction of any

kind after grade 3

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RAND Reading Group Study (RRGS) GoalsCreate agenda for R&D programs focused

on reading comprehensionPromote constructive debate about the

agendaIncrease communications among members

of reading research and practice communities

Submit agenda to U.S. Dept. of Education to support appropriations proposals

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http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1465/MR1465.pdf


RRGS’s Definition of Reading Comprehension

The process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language

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A Heuristic for Thinking about Reading Comprehension

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RRGS-Based Conclusions Comprehension can be taught starting in

preschoolAnd needs to be taught across all grades

Building oral language skills is a key component of reading comprehension instruction across the grades

Too much focus on print skills alone may decrease attention to

comprehension precursors21



Is a Focus on Comprehension by Itself Adequate to Solve the Problem?

Not really, because….

22


Adolescent Readers Have to Master…Word reading accuracyWord reading fluencyMaking inferences from the text Integrating new text-based knowledge with

pre-existing knowledgeUnderstanding the language of the textsHaving the background knowledge presupposed

by the textsMotivation and interest in the textEstablishing a purpose for reading

23


Successful Practitioners with Adolescent Readers Have To…

Integrate reading instruction with content learning goals

Manage the distributed structures of middle/high schools

Find a place in the curriculum to focus on readingEnglish teachers tend to focus on literature, not readingOther content-area teachers are rarely prepared, and

sometimes unwilling, to teach reading Design practice based on a relatively scanty

research base

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Reading Next Challenges

New reading tasks, even for children prepared very well at pre-K – Grade 3

Components of pre-K – Grade 3 instruction key for comprehension are still not being adequately implemented

Too many 4th – 12th graders are struggling

25


The Problem of Comprehension in the Content Areas Among Grade 4-12 students

Widespread Inevitable if there is a mismatch

between reader and text, reader and activity, text and activity

A problem that should become a focus of instruction

26


What Do We Know from Work on Early Literacy?

Solid research provides a basis for making progress

Assessment is a key step in organizing instruction

Consensus serves the field better than dissensus

Models of excellent instruction should be studied

Wisdom of practice has been undervalued27


Steps to Helping All Students Read Better

Identify student literacy needs, at group and individual levels

Teach all students systematicallyTeach all students reading for learning

in every classGive struggling students extra help

designed to address their needs

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http://www.all4ed.org/publications/ReadingNext/ReadingNext.pdf

READING NEXT

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READING NEXTA VISION FOR ACTION AND RESEARCH INMIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL LITERACYA Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York


Fifteen Key Elements: Nine Instructional Improvements Direct, explicit comprehension instruction Effective instruction embedded in content Motivation and self-directed learning Text-based collaborative learning Strategic tutoring Diverse texts Intensive writing A technology component Ongoing formative assessment of

students30


Fifteen Key Elements: Six Infrastructure ImprovementsExtended time for literacyProfessional developmentOngoing summative assessment

of students and programsTeacher teamsLeadershipComprehensive and coordinated

literacy program31


15 – 3 = 0

Indispensable elements are:Professional developmentOngoing formative assessment

of studentsOngoing summative

assessment of students and programs

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More Information

www.serpinstitute.org www.carnegie.org/literacy www.rand.org/achievementforall www.gse.harvard.edu/~snow

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http://www.serpinstitute.org/

http://www.carnegie.org/literacy

http://www.rand.org/achievementforall

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~snow


References

Biancarosa, G., & Snow, C. E. (2004). Reading next - A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD]. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (No. NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Perie, M., Moran, R., & Lutkus, A. (2005). NAEP 2004 trends in academic progress: Three decades of student performance in reading and mathematics. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

RAND Reading Study Group. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.

Snow, C., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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module 1: unit 3, session 2 module 1: module 1: adolescent reading, writing, and thinking adolescent...

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high school students

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