Posted on 11/28/2007 1:58:17 PM PST by Zakeet
WASHINGTON - U.S. fourth-graders have lost ground in reading ability compared with kids around the world, according to results of a global reading test.
Test results released Wednesday showed U.S. students, who took the test last year, scored about the same as they did in 2001, the last time the test was given — despite an increased emphasis on reading under the No Child Left Behind law.
Still, the U.S. average score on the Progress in International Reading Literacy test remained above the international average. Ten countries or jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and three Canadian provinces, were ahead of the United States this time. In 2001, only three countries were ahead of the United States.
The 2002 No Child Left Behind law requires schools to test students annually in reading and math, and imposes sanctions on schools that miss testing goals.
The U.S. performance on the international test of 45 nations or jurisdictions differed somewhat from results of a U.S. national reading test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card. Fourth-grade reading scores rose modestly on the most recent version of that test, taken earlier this year and measuring growth since 2005. During the previous two-year period, scores were flat.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ha! I was going to say, why am I not surprised? :)
I know that teachers will get blamed for this, perhaps with some justification. But increasing use of TVs and computers (and parental consent to such garbage) bears much of the blame.
How many of our 4th graders are enrolled in ESL classes? Could help explain the low scores.
I guess it’s time to rejigger the tests to make the results look better. [/sarc]
It’s time for the NEA to tell its’ members to start teaching the test again. So what if that all the kids know!
No it doesn’t, not in 4th grade. It’s the lack of a good phonics curriculum used in public schools that hampers our kids.
Think curriculum. If public schools use a whole word method instead of phonics this result can be expected.
If schools would use a phonics curriculum, reading would be automatic for kids by 3rd grade.
There are plenty of opportunities to learn and grow in our schools. It just requires involved parents. And often, the parents expect the schools to do the whole job. They let junior come home and do nothing but watch TV. Then they get mad that junior is failing.
You're making a huge leap of faith saying that kids have parents. America has an entire generation of kids being raised by single mothers.
NCLB initially focused on making sure 3rd grader could read at an adequate level. It has only recently started expanding to other grades.
The morons at AP should know this....wait....what am I saying? Journalists knowing what they are writing about? I am such a fool. But at least I’m not a journalist.
The dumbing down of the American Society is in it’s final stages. It’s pure criminal.
Their achievements are just hidden in the ever increasing numbers of students with no academic inclinations.
(87% of special ed students, 93% of "english language learners", 83% of hispanic students, and 86% of black students failed to meet proficiency in the 2007 assessment.)
That’s my thought as well. Perhaps they should try giving the test in the language of choice?
My son is in third grade. My wife is not a single mother. Very few of his classmates do not have two parents. Its not exactly an “entire generation”.
For what it’s worth, our public school has very good test scores.
Around here phonics are not taught after the third grade....
My wife and I help my 5 year old son with letters, numbers, colors, all sorts of stuff. He is almost ready to read. We do the same with our younger 2 kids. They wouldn’t be anywhere if my wife and I just expected the screwels to indoctrinate my kids.
I am surprised they could read to begin with!
“Anybody surprised?”
With the number of kids speaking Spanglish and “Ebonics, no.
Literacy and fourth grade seem like unrelated phenomena. High school, maybe.
Also, the public school has abandoned history/social studies and science in the classroom.
Those 2 subjects require a lot of reading and critical thinking skills which are lacking in the public schools.
My daughters switched to private school last year for 4th grade, and they are being taught so much more than my son was taught in public school in elementary school.
My son is in 8th grade now, and his critical thinking skills are still fairly low. He’s gifted and reads at a college level, and he do okay because he catches onto things quickly. However, some kids really need to be showed how to think things through and not just do well on a multiple choice test.
Some kids yes, but not all kids. Some kids need further help than just phonics. Some kids need more multi-sensory technigues to read. Basically, the kids with dyslexia and I think that is around 10% of the population.
Wonder what the literacy rates for homeschoolers are doing.
Teachers out themselves forth as the only ones who can properly teach a child because they’re *professional educators*, so what do they expect other than that in many cases, parents are going to leave teaching reading up to them?
And teachers can adequately teach 20+ youngsters a skill that really takes one on one participation? I don’t think so.
Yes, TV is to blame for some of it, but I think parents abdicating their responsibilities is another.
Again.
I haven’t met any illiterate homeschoolers yet.
Mine were reading at the fourth grade level at 5.
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