“We’re not asking them to read nearly enough,” Ms. Pimentel said, an expert on English and reading standards who is a member of the National Assessment Governing Board that oversees the test that showed little to no growth in the area of reading.
Really? I am wondering how long Ms. Pimentel has been inside of the classroom teaching struggling readers. I have been in the classroom working with struggling learners and readers for 15 years. I don’t agree with Ms. Pimentel.
According to the New York Times, “The nation’s schoolchildren have made little or no progress in reading proficiency in recent years, according to results released Wednesday from the largest nationwide reading test. The scores continue a 17-year trend of sluggish achievement in reading that contrasts with substantial gains in mathematics during roughly the same period.”
As I watch students struggle in high school with decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, spelling and writing, a few things come to mind. Let’s take John, for instance he does not know how to spell words that are not phonic or words that you cannot sound out. Therefore, he is embarrassed about his spelling and does not write. How did he get like this? It’s not just lack of instruction or directions that cause this kind of remediation. I have said before that students need developmental, social emotional and physical support to learn. Where did we fall short for John? Somewhere down the road, John did not get what he needed to continue growing.
We have to get away from this one fix show of education. It is not a one trick pony it is a system. My friend told me the other day that the educational system is not to teach the mass but to offer what is offered. Whoever gets it gets it and whoever doesn’t doesn't. So, according to his logic the ones who did not get it recycle into no man’s land?
I say NO! Our children can learn if given the instruction, environment and developmental pieces necessary. I have done it and so can the next guy. Students will make gains if given what they need to learn.
We can continue to have another 17 year studies that does not tell us any causality or start using common sense to teach the child not he standard. If we do this students will improve because we will give them the needed support to improve.
As a reading instructor who has seen my share of below-level students, I have to agree that our kids need more than just content thrown at them in order to learn and become proficient readers. In my classes I use a software program called AceReader Pro (www.acereader.com) to supplement the in-class work. The program contains 260 grade-leveled Reading Comprehension Tests, numerous drills and fun yet challenging games, and the ability to adjust all the parameters of the text (i.e. font size, color, rate and style of presentation, etc.). It also has the ability to import either the teacher or the student's material (i.e. text, Web pages, e-mails, etc.) directly into the program so that the content is tailored for the individual. It can also be used in a networked environment to instruct a whole class. I would recommend AceReader Pro for any parent or instructor interested in seeing their student become a proficient reader.
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