The 3rd-grade factor: Read or stay back
Stephen Krashen Comment: Sent to the Indianapolis Star
Missing from the discussion of increasing reading proficiency for Indiana students is the research on reading. ("The 3rd-grade factor: Read or stay back," Jan. 17).
Study after study shows that the most powerful factor in increasing reading proficiency is reading itself: Children who read more do better on tests of reading, writing, spelling,
grammar, and vocabulary. Research also tell us that "late intervention" works: Children who become readers at any age can make enormous improvement.
Research also says that when children have access to good books, they generally take advantage of them. For many children, especially children of poverty, the major source of reading material is the school library. Studies consistently show that school library quality, which includes quality
collections and credentialed librarians, is related to reading achievement.
The first step in improving literacy is to make sure all children have access to excellent classroom and school libraries. A good place to start is to support efforts already in place
in Indiana, such as the Middle Grades Reading Network.
Sources:
Children who read more do
better:
Krashen, S. 2004. The Power of Reading. Libraries Unlimited and Heinemann Publishing Company (second edition)
McQuillan, J. 1998. The Literacy Crisis: False Claims and Real Solutions. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Late intervention:
Krashen, S. and McQuillan, J. 2007. Late intervention. Educational Leadership 65 (2): 68-73.
When children have access to books:
Krashen, S. 2004. The Power of Reading. Libraries Unlimited and Heinemann Publishing Company (second edition)
School library major source:
Feitelson, D. & Goldstein, Z. (1986). Patterns of book ownership and reading to young children
in Israeli school-oriented and nonschool oriented families. The Reading Teacher, 39, 224-230.
Neuman, S.B. & Celano, D. (2001). Access to print in low-income and middle-income communities: An ecological study of four neighborhoods. Reading Research Quarterly, 36, 1, 8-26.
Di Loreto, C., and Tse, L. 1999. Seeing is believing: Disparity in books in two Los Angeles area public libraries. School Library Quarterly 17(3): 31, 36.
Libraries and achievement:
Elley, W. 1992. How in the World do Children Read? Hamburg: The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.
Lance, K. 2004. The impact of school library media centers on academic achievement. In Carol
Kuhlthau (Ed.), School Library Media Annual. 188-197. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. (For access to the many Lance studies done in individual states, as well as studies done by others at the state level, see http://www.davidvl.org/research.html).
McQuillan, J. 1998. The Literacy Crisis: False Claims and Real Solutions. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Middle Grades Reading
Network: http://mgrn.evansville.edu/
Editorial
The 3rd-grade factor: Read or stay back
Here's a fact that is, or at least should be, unacceptable to every resident of Indiana: About 20,000 students a year in the state complete the third grade without having acquired basic reading skills.
In many cases, those students will never catch up. By fourth grade, they're already on the path to dropping out of high school, landing in a dead-end job, or worse.
Thankfully, community programs such as the United Way's Read Up help many at-risk students in Central Indiana gain the knowledge they need to become strong readers and, subsequently, engaged learners. But such programs aren't universal in the state, and, as valuable as Read Up and other efforts are, it's even better to intervene early so that children don't fall far behind their peers.
Here's another unacceptable fact: In 2002, Indiana's fourth-graders ranked 15th in the nation on reading achievement as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. By 2007, the state had dropped to 28th.
It's not that Indiana's students now are performing worse than their predecessors; Indiana's test scores are flat. Other states, however, have made significant gains, in an era when a strong education is not just the ticket for an individual's success in life but also a prime driver of economic development.
It's within that context that the push for Senate Bill 258 should be understood. The legislation, authored by Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, addresses young students' reading deficiencies and the common practice of social promotion.
Under the bill, scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Education and Career Development Committee this week, students who aren't reading at grade level by the end of third grade would not be promoted to the fourth grade. They instead would be given intensive help to shore up their reading skills so that they eventually can succeed in school. The legislation does provide common-sense exceptions for retaining students, including those with significant disabilities.
Why focus on the third grade? By fourth grade, students are reading to learn, instead of learning to read. In short, an on-track fourth-grader's command of reading skills enables him to begin building a core of knowledge in other subjects such as social studies and science. The fourth-grader who is still struggling to read age-appropriate text, however, is left behind.
Important note: SB 258's proponents don't argue that the emphasis on reading should start in the third grade. They acknowledge that the push to improve reading skills must begin in kindergarten and build as a child progresses.
But is holding children back in school really necessary? A seemingly hard step, retaining a child, may be painful in the short term but may be necessary to ensure eventual success. Is the high school student who can't master algebra ready for calculus? Probably not without tutoring to help fill the gaps. The same is true for children who struggle with reading.
What about hurting a child's self-esteem? Again, some pain may be necessary at a young age to avoid worse hardship later. Does anyone think that the one in five Indiana students who fail to graduate from high school on time are brimming with self-confidence?
Skeptics of SB 258 should study what has happened in Florida, which dramatically improved reading performance after adopting a similar measure. In 1992, a staggering 47 percent of Florida's fourth-graders couldn't demonstrate basic reading skills. The number had dropped to 30 percent by 2007. Indiana, in contrast, maintained a flat 32 percent of students who couldn't read at a basic level during that time span.
Want to maximize the odds that Indiana's students will excel? Focus on reading early, and don't let up.
— Editorial, with comment by Stephen Krashen
Indianapolis Star
2010-01-17
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100117/OPINION08/1170348/1291/OPINION08/The-3rd-grade-factor-Read-or-stay-back
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
