We know of many variables that help children learn to read. But well-designed peer-reviewed research continues to be ignored when it comes to these variables. At the same time, states and school districts continue to promote destructive school policies. We know such policies fail. So, why are they still being used?
Here’s why some children might not read and learn well.
- Large Class Sizes: We’ve known for years that lowering class sizes in K-3rd helps children learn. Project STAR, a study done in Tennessee, found that students in smaller K-4th grade classes had better long-term learning outcomes in grades four, six, and eight. For more information about the importance of lowering class size check out Class Size Matters. Smaller class sizes, especially for young children are what’s needed. Teachers learn more about students and tailor reading instruction to their needs. Teachers get to know students and parents and can better address any reading difficulties that arise.
- Inappropriate Reading Expectations: Since NCLB, kindergarten has become the new first grade. Parents and educators have been led to believe children must read earlier than ever before! Developmental researchers like Jean Piaget, Maria Montessori, Erik Erickson, Lev Vygotsky, and others emphasize the importance of play. But worksheets and testing have replaced play at this critical stage. Children start school under severe pressure to read. Pushing young children to read before they’re developmentally ready must end. It can damage a child’s love for reading. Check out Defending the Early Years and the Alliance for Childhood.
- Retention: The research surrounding retention is clear. It doesn’t work! It could lead to students dropping out later. It’s damaging to a child. So why do states like Florida and Michigan keep promoting it, or debating it like it does work? Instead of putting money into holding children back, fund smaller class sizes, multi-age grouping, and looping for children who would benefit.
- Loss of Libraries and Librarians: Some schools no longer have school libraries, or they have old books, no librarians, and share space with the maker movement. Yet schools with great libraries have students who do well. We know this. Why would any child believe reading is important if adults give them little access to books? Books still rule! Every student should have access to qualified librarians and libraries updated with the latest picture books and teen titles that students enjoy.
- Common Core State Standards: How has CCSS done making better readers? No one mentions Common Core in the phonics debates that I read, but it has been a big influencer in English Language Arts programs since 2013. How has the restrictive close reading worked? What about the push for nonfiction? Standards are restrictive. Children are creative learners and teachers deserve to be able to teach the way they professionally see fit. I’d like to see more written about the connection between reading difficulties and Common Core.
- Lead in the Water: Lead exposure has been removed from many of the sources where we used to find it, like gasoline. Lead poisoning in a child can cause learning disabilities. The children in Flint, Michigan should be followed carefully in their schooling and given support and assistance if learning disabilities are found. Water fountains in all schools should be tested regularly, and old schools and homes should be inspected for loose leaded paint and dust that could get in the air.
- Children’s Health: The lack of health care for the poor in this country affects how children learn in school. Recent teacher marches included crying out for school nurses. What health screenings do children get? Do they have access to dental, sight, hearing, and general wellness check-ups? No child is going to care about reading if they have a toothache. You can’t expect young children to care about learning if they’re sick. The same goes for nutrition. A child can’t learn well if they’re hungry.
- School Counselors: Sometimes children come to school with mental health problems. They need access to a school counselor who will be able to analyze their difficulty, give them the support they need, work with the teachers and parents, and recommend outside help when required. The mental health challenges a child brings to school might be transitory or long-lasting, but they cannot be ignored. Children experiencing any kind of mental health problem will have difficulty learning to read. Schools need to hire enough counselors to provide student support.
- Teacher Preparation: How are universities teaching teachers how to teach reading? My colleges did a good job years ago, but colleges today have some of the same corporate pressures as K-12 schools. For example, why do university officials sign on to Deans for Impact funded by the Gates Foundation and other corporate groups? Why is Relay Graduate School of Education gaining traction? Who is monitoring teacher education offered in online for-profit colleges? Teachers should hang their diplomas on the wall for parents to see. Or the PTA should provide a list of teachers and their bios before school starts. Parents need to know who’s teaching their children. Public schools used to care much more about credentials.
- Special Education: The corporate reformers’ goal appears to be to get rid of special education. Universities used to prepare teachers to specifically work with children who have emotional problems, learning disabilities, visual difficulties, and other categories. Many of these programs have been discontinued or blended into a few classes. General education teachers are given one or two special education courses. It might be time to change the title “special education” but there will always be children who will benefit from teachers who have a special understanding of categorical problems they exhibit.
- Overreliance on Technology: Corporate reformers would like us to think that placing a child in front of a computer will correct their problems and provide all they need to learn. But there is no research to show this to be true. Integrating reading instruction with technology might be helpful to teachers and students, but reading and language arts are more all-encompassing when it comes to learning.
Public schools serve ninety percent of America’s children. We need to make sure that every school provides a rich literature environment where children see reading as desirable. Students should get the help they need when they have reading difficulties. Reading should be enjoyable and within their reach.
Thanks for a great article about a huge topic! I’m waiting for followup.
Probably the most extreme (absurd) case, which I missed on the list, is that of the students who do not know English. Total disregard for the principles of second-language acquisition (SLA) and the elimination of SLA classes/curriculum and SLA professionals (in non-elite schools!), plus the dearth of preparation in SLA for teachers, have created and continue to create an under-educated subclass out of potentially cognitively-superior (not learning-disabled as they are sometimes categorized), literate bi- and multilingual successful and productive citizens. (Why and for whom is this a desirable state of affairs?)
And too, many of the other reasons listed for the elimination of reading apply to these students in spades.
Excellent! Thank you for addressing this, Paula! You make great points.
Linda Chantal Sullivan wrote this post on this topic several years ago. You might appreciate this and have more to add.
Thank you!
https://nancyebailey.com/2015/10/19/hey-bill-melinda-heres-whats-hard-for-ells/
We were thrilled that WaPo’s Valerie Strauss reposted it on The Answer Sheet.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/11/06/why-its-hard-to-be-a-teacher-of-english-language-learners-by-an-ell-teacher/?utm_term=.7cd773d24134
Apart from the issue of teacher ed, which another commenter mentioned, I don’t think Common Core per se has a huge role to play. I taught with it for several years before retirement. I spent a long time arguing with people about the math involved in Common Core. My students loved Common core math and became better thinkers and motivated learners because of it (I taught 2nd grade during this time). I think something similar appears to be happening with reading. Common Core can be taken to extremes, and in many districts, there is no training for the new strategies it promotes. Standardized testing adds a pile of pressure. My children loved the reading we did, They chose the books they wanted to read, after learning how to pick a ‘good fit book’. They became enthusiastic readers. I am sure there are better Common Core materials available now and teachers that are more accustomed to it.
The other point is lightly touched on with the mention of food-insecurity, but it’s much deeper than that. Poverty has corrosive effects on children’s brains, not just because they are hungry but because they often have no stability at home at all. Parents who are stressed by unpaid bills, two or three jobs, have no time or energy to talk with children, help with homework, no matter how much they wish they could. To learn about the effects of poverty I would recommend “Teaching with Poverty in Mind” by Eric Jansen. It is an eye=opener. Poverty is rising in our country and affects all our schools.
I agree totally. Libraries, with librarians encouraged students to read, help student find and encouraged them to read their reading level. That was the worst mistake closing the elementary school libraries.
i have done my own small research study by asking successful young people who speak other languages when they learned to read. All most all of them learn to read in their native language . You only learn to read once . After you learn to read in your native language it is easier to read in english
Nancy, did you read that op-ed in EdWeek about the reading crisis? That got me so riled I responded when it was re-posted by Mindshift. You’ve done a good work in articulating the issues here. Better than I could do.
Also–I bristle a little when teacher education is (even partially) blamed for teachers not knowing how to teach reading because I am a professor in teacher education and I teach a lot of courses about literacy. I work very hard, and I believe I am doing good work, so I do my best to speak in a measured tone. I know we are a mixed bag, but blaming teacher ed for teachers not knowing about teaching literacy is a pretty broad sweep. In your blog here, you mention particularly problematic institutions, but others don’t. For them, it’s all of us. Bad teachers, bad teacher ed, reading crisis.
One thing that many critics seem to forget is that teacher ed is a beginner’s program. We get new teachers ready to begin, we teach them how to continue learning, and we hope that once they have their own classrooms, they do take the initiative to learn more about teaching reading, math, history, arts, PE, science, and all of it. We hope that when they encounter puzzling students that they’ll do the work to figure them out. We hope that they have the support to do so. But we cannot possibly teach them everything they need to know even for their first years, let alone for their entire careers.
Now I must get off the internet and read my students’ lesson plans. A group of them have just turned in their first skills-based lesson in our literacy course, and I have promised them a lot of feedback.
Carrie, You sound busy, so thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experience and your concerns.
My grandmother started teaching without a degree. She taught all year then went to summer school until she graduated i thought it was the most effective teacher preparation . Fifty years later people are still telling me she was their favorite teacher because she read to them everyday.
Great article. Reading is imperative and schools and families must work together to do whatever it takes for the kids to learn to read! Communities need to provide more volunteers to read to and listen to the kids read at the local schools. Secondary kids, especially high schoolers, can also read to and listen to the kids read. The intensive time and effort required is worth it.
Thanks, Robin.
FYI: https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2019/03/19/explicit-phonics-instruction-its-not-just-for.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202019-03-20%20Education%20Dive:%20K-12%20Curriculum%20Weekly%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:19973%5D&utm_term=Education%20Dive:%20K12%20Curriculum
I think I’m arguing about something a bit different here.
How many of our young boys are having eyestrain problems? My grandson is a second grader, an accurate baseball player, and reads at an independent 38 DRA. His eyes become bloodshot by the end of the day, and he recently got his first pair of glasses for nearsightedness. I suspect his nearsightedness has been caused by forcing him to focus on work at 18 ” away from his face.
The emotional health of the student that you mention under “School Counselors” is very important. A related problem crops up later, as students who do not have the emotional maturity necessary to read for the fine details in subjects like math, or the ability to file away factual information needed to associate with newly acquired material.
As always, astute commentary, Nancy!
Great article! I would just add that children learn different things at different times. I have encountered several children, my own son included, and heard of others who just aren’t ready to read until around age 10. They are usually very bright boys with large vocabularies and love to be read to but just aren’t ready to do it themselves. If we just support their learning in other subjects, keep reading to them and include them in the community of readers without making them feel there is something wrong with them, something seems to click at about age 10 and they get it very quickly, especially if we provide reading material at their reading level on subjects they’re interested in.
Thank you, Tanya. That’s an interesting point. Finland didn’t start formal reading until third grade. I’m not sure if they still do that.
Also, Response to Intervention….sounded good, but delayed children with serious issues from getting the right help.
Agree! Thanks, Mom!
Hi Nancy!
If you’re going to mention “Lead in the water” I’d like to note a couple things: There is less environmental lead now, then when we were growing up, due to removing lead from gasoline. (Thank god!) You do still have the 1000+ communities with issues like Flint, however.
You are missing a couple major issues as well (this is not a criticism! You’re spot on with your points!): The issue of food at school, timing/hours of school, heavy metal absorption due to out gassing from older electronics, and teacher burn out.
It has been demonstrated over and over that students that have an appropriate breakfast and an appropriate lunch have better prognosis in schools. This is one of the reasons that I support free meals to k-12 students.
Recent work in Seattle has demonstrated that starting school later results in better retention and scores in teenage students.
It isn’t widely known, but virtually all older electronics use quite a bit of toxic heavy metals in their construction. That old “hot electronics smell” is actually unhealthy for you. It is for this reason that experts recommend keeping any electronics out of children’s rooms at least until their teenage years. This is becoming less of an issue as newer more green electronics replace the old dangerous ones.
I’d be happy to link up articles on these points, if you wish. Keep up the good work!
You’re absolutely right about the gasoline, and there is less lead than years ago. The lead exposure today is often in poor neighborhoods and old paint chips and in water.
Also right about school start time and teenagers. The argument against this is a tough call though, since extracurricular activities will run late into the evening.
I appreciate the mention of older electronics. I had not considered that a problem. Thanks, Greg!
My pleasure. Despite having no kids of my own, this is something I am passionate about. By most metrics, American students are lagging behind the rest of the world. . . and there is no reason we should be.
From the early 1900s, through the late 80s, the US accounted for more than half of the patents granted in the ENTIRE WORLD. Despite the US having a relatively tiny population, we were THE MOST inventive thinkers. During my lifespan we’ve seen those patent numbers get usurped first by the EU in the late 90s, and now by other regions as well. For the US to be a healthy country, we need to rekindle that spark of creativity.
I have to disagree here. I don’t believe students are really lagging behind. I’m not sure what metrics you are referring to.
Article from 2013 noting average scores world-wide, below average in math: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/american-schools-vs-the-world-expensive-unequal-bad-at-math/281983/
Article from 2017, putting the US behind the majority of the industrial world in reading (And other subjects) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/
Article from a couple days ago about the PISA scores, and the US’s lag behind other industrial countries. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-12-27/why-do-u-s-schoolchildren-underperform-academically-compared-to-students-in-other-countries
You can also look at college prep numbers, they tend to mirror the PISA scores pretty well. When I was going through school in the 80s, the US was a good deal higher on those charts. Not sure what all has changed since. There are myriad articles on the subject, and most agree, the US is slipping in its education quality.
I refer you to Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error where she discusses the misuse of tests and data to make it look like there’s a crisis in education. Consider the poverty in this country and the differences in education in countries. There are many variables to consider.
I’m not a testing expert, but let me make a point about the recent PISA scores. In the middle of the LA times article you will find this paragraph.
“U.S. rankings actually improved somewhat in the new PISA results, with students scoring slightly above average among OECD nations in reading and science.” They didn’t do as well in math. But who’s discussing the reading and science scores? Most news articles emphasize the negative…make public schools and their teachers look like failures…then bring on the technology. I believe that this is where we’re going.
But thanks for commenting and taking the time to share the test articles.
Greg – please be careful about reading or citing The Atlantic as a reliable source for anything education related. They are huge proponents of education “reform” and they are quite incentivized to show how U.S. education is “failing”. Their articles are so biased they can pretty much be called propaganda. Very slick propaganda.
Interesting point, Dienne. I will take what you said seriously. Thank you.
Nancy, you do a fabulous job of outlining your concerns about the challenges students have in reading. I think so many of the issues you listed are interrelated. Three areas specifically spoke to me: Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Teacher Preparation and Special Education. With the increase in rigor with CCSS, many students with learning disabilities will. not be able to meet the expectations in literacy standards. This may lead to frustration and a withdrawal from school. However, if both general education and special education teachers are properly prepared, they can help students navigate the waters of CCSS. Teachers need to be able to scaffold and differentiate their instruction of reading to best support students with disabilities.
In their article, The Common Core State Standards and Reading: Interpretations and Implications for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities, Haager & Vaughn (2013) outline ways that teachers can best support students with disabilities in accessing and meeting the CCSS. I found the article informative and well worth the read.
Thank you for your comment, Kristie. But I am not a fan of Common Core and do not understand why reasonable people try to fit their instructional agenda to such unproven standards.
One additional reason that is definitely flying under the radar: chronic absenteeism. I just took a look at NYS school report cards and was appalled by the rates of CA, especially at the secondary level (40% to 50+% in all struggling sub-groups). And the rates of CA at the elementary level were not that much better.
Success in school, and the confidence it builds, is highly dependent on the daily rhythm of positive routines and habits. Regular interruptions in that rhythm, are nearly impossible to overcome and produce a downward spiral in confidence and heightened levels of frustration that negatively impact test scores.
Additionally, English language arts tests developed using Common Core standards provide very poor correlations between scores and actual basic reading skills. `
NYS Grade 4 (2022)
ELA 42% Proficient (Levels 3 and 4)
Science 80% Proficient (levels 3 and 4)
If 58% of 4th graders in NYS “can’t read” how could 80% of that cohort pass the state science test?
Excellent point. I see CA mentioned, but I am not sure of the exact reasons behind it. I do wonder if the test prep pressure has, throughout the years, increasingly driven children to dislike school.
As an educator, I see so much grift in the system. So many “evidence-based” interventions are being pushed on us that simply don’t work. Often, the administrator who is pushing so hard has their sights set on joining that corporation upon securing the sale, and thus their place to land when leaving the school. Plus, so many of these “evidence-based” programs come from evidence mills. It’s a sick system.
That’s interesting. I agree. “Evidence-based” and “scientific” are easy to deceive. Thanks, Jim.
Here is what the media and the politicians need to understand:
Children and young adolescents have much more “trouble” scoring well on crappy reading tests developed with crappy (CC) reading standards than they do with actually understanding that which is written on their developmental level – given, sufficient and relevant background knowledge.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t fit too well on a bumper sticker.
And in looking at the NYS school report cards, it is very obvious which groups, unsurprisingly, struggle with those crappy, Common Core tests: students with disabilities, second language learners, and the economically disadvantaged.
I agree. Common Core State Standards have also been around for years, yet why is there no reflection on their effect in teaching reading? Why do they get a pass? Thanks again, Rick.
Yes. And not just the “teaching of reading” but maybe, politically more important, the use of Common Core standards to test/”measuring reading comprehension.
Select GRADE 3 Reading Standards
Determine a theme or central idea and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize portions of a text.
In literary texts, describe character traits, motivations, or feelings, drawing on specific details from the text.
Discuss how the reader’s point of view or perspective may differ from that of the author, narrator or characters in a text.
Explain how specific illustrations or text features contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a text (e.g., create mood, emphasize character or setting, or determine where, when, why, and how key events occur).
Recognize genres and make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events, and situations.
Absolutely. Most early childhood experts cringed at the lack of developmental appropriateness of the standards, which is what one will find when those who lack expertise are given the keys to public schools.
The trend of eliminating play extends beyond worksheets in kindergarten and elementary schools are losing precious play time, too. To combat this, a new Arizona law requires twice daily recess. Schools can implement this as they see fit.
https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2018/09/17/new-arizona-law-requires-two-recesses/
It might be too tiny a change to increase reading but it will be interesting to see what happens!
Thanks, Sarah. I hope so. It is ridiculous that there needs to be a law to ensure that children get unstructured breaks during the school day. It is really child abuse when schools refuse such breaks and micromanage everything a child does.