MIDDLE GRADES LITERACY FORUM

SEPTEMBER 28-29

PHOENIX, AZ

Reading Failurean Educational and a Public

Health Problem

Reading Proficiency is Critical to Academic Learning and Success in School

(Lyon, 1998; 2002, 2003, 2004; Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998)

The Ability to Read Proficiently is Significantly Related to Quality of Life and Health Outcomes

(Lyon, 1997; Lyon & Chhabra, 2004; Thompson, 2001)

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000

PoorPoor

Non-poorNon-poor

60

26

Percent of 4th Grade Students Performing Below Basic Level -

37%

HispanicHispanic 58

BlackBlack 63

WhiteWhite 27

National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003

Percent Performing Below the Basic Reading Level

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000

PoorPoor

Non-poorNon-poor

60

26

Percent of 8th Grade Students

Performing Below Basic Level - 29%

HispanicHispanic 44

BlackBlack 46

WhiteWhite 17

National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003

Percent Performing Below the Basic Reading Level

% of 8th Grade Students Reading BELOW Basic in Selected Cities

CITY 4TH 8TH

Atlanta 65 58

Chicago 66 38

D.C. 69 52

Houston 52 41

Los Angeles 67 56

New York 53 ***

Parents’ Education Level and Student Reading Proficiency

• 45 % of Students whose Parents did not Complete

High School Read Below Basic level

• 17% of Students whose Parents Completed College

Read Below Basic Level

CONSEQUENCES

• Parents who can’t read have children who are significantly at-risk for reading failure

• An average 8th grade student from poverty reads 3.5 grade levels below a middle income and affluent student

• 59 % of prison inmates have not completed high school with the majority reading at least 3 to 4 years below grade level when in school

CONSEQUENCES A strong predictor of High School drop out rates is

reading failure in grades 4 – 8.

• Students who drop out of High School are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested

• 60 % 0f Students who drop out of High School are unemployed

• The cost of illiteracy to taxpayers is $224 billion per year

• U.S. companies lose approximately $40 billion annually because of illiteracy

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

Reading Age Level

Chronological Age

Low Oral Language in Kindergarten

High Oral Language in Kindergarten

Hirsch, 1996

Reading Failure Does Not Correct Itself

5.2 years difference

Change in Reading Skill for Children with Reading Disabilities who Experience Growth in Reading of .04 Standard

Deviations a Year

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Grade

3

Gra

de4

Gra

de5

Gra

de6

Grade Level

Sta

nd

ard

Sco

re i

n

Rea

din

g AverageReadersDisabledReaders

70 71.8

WHY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH MUST GUIDE INSTRUCTION

Essential for identifying effective instructional practices

Provides reliable information about what works and why and how it works

Essential for designing new effectiveteaching methods

NIH-NICHD Multidisciplinary Research Program

(North America; Lyon, 1985-2005)

NICHD Sites

U of Arkansas – Med CtrDykman

U of MissouriGeary

Colorado LDRCDefries

U of MichiganMorrison

TorontoLovett

U of LouisvilleMolfese

Mayo ClinicKalusic

Boy’s TownSmith

U of HoustonFrancis

SUNY AlbanyVellutino

U of California – San Diego, Salk InstituteBellugi

U of Texas – Med CtrFoorman/Fletcher

Yale MethodologyFletcher

Emerson CollegeAram

TuftsWolf

Syracuse UBlachman

U of Massachusetts

Rayner

Beth IsraelGalaburda

Children’s Hospital/Harvard LDRCWaber

Florida StateTorgesen/Wagner

U of WashingtonBerninger

StanfordReiss

U of Southern CaliforniaManis/Seidenberg

Univ of California – IrvineFilipek

Bowman GrayWood

Georgetown UEden

D.C./HoustonForman/Moats

Johns HopkinsDenckla

Haskins LabsFowler/Liberman

YaleShaywitz

Purdue UHynd

Univ of FloridaAlexander/Conway

Georgia StateR. Morris

San FranciscoHerron

U of KansasShumaker

U of WisconsinJohnson-Glenburg

Northwestern UBooth

Gallaudet ULaSasso

Duke UGoldston

U of GeorgiaStahl

ColoradoMoats

U of TexasVaughn

Rutgers UScarboro-ugh

Carnegie-Mellon

Reading Comprehension

Reading ComprehensionKnowledgeKnowledge FluencyFluency

MetacognitionMetacognition

LanguageLanguage

•Prosody•Automaticity/Rate•Accuracy•Decoding•Phonemic Awareness

•Prosody•Automaticity/Rate•Accuracy•Decoding•Phonemic Awareness

•Oral Language Skills•Knowledge of Language Structures•Vocabulary•Cultural Influences

•Oral Language Skills•Knowledge of Language Structures•Vocabulary•Cultural Influences

•Life Experience•Content Knowledge•Activation of Prior Knowledge•Knowledge about Texts

•Life Experience•Content Knowledge•Activation of Prior Knowledge•Knowledge about Texts

•Motivation & Engagement•Active Reading Strategies•Monitoring Strategies•Fix-Up Strategies

•Motivation & Engagement•Active Reading Strategies•Monitoring Strategies•Fix-Up Strategies

Florida Reading Initiative

Effective Reading Instruction in Middle School Requires Effective

Leaders Who Ensure:

• Evidence-Based Curriculum

• Continuous Evaluation and Accountability

• Challenging Goals for Both Students and Teachers

• Opportunity to Learn and Sufficient Time for Instruction

• Parental Involvement

• Safe and Orderly Environment

• Collegiality and Collaboration

Effective Reading Instruction in Middle School Requires:

• Content Knowledge and Skills• Planning and Setting Goals• Scientifically-Based Curriculum Design• Research-Based Instructional Methods• Formative and Summative Assessment• Customizing Instruction for Individual Students• Classroom Management and Organization• Motivating and Engaging Students• Positive Attitudes Towards Teaching

Why Effective Leaders and Teachers are Essential

Avg. School & Avg. Teacher

Least Effective School & Least Effective Teacher

Most Effective School & Least Effective Teacher

Least Effective School & Most Effective TeacherMost Effective School & Avg. Teacher

Most Effective School & Most Effective Teacher

50% 3% 37% 63% 78% 96%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

50th percentile