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High School Literacy Programs
In 2008, national testing exams showed that 38% of seniors were reading below “basic levels,” indicating that there is a definite need for literacy programs for high school students. The results from an international comparison of reading comprehension and performance showed that eleventh and twelfth graders in the United States were ranked near the bottom, behind Brazil, Indonesia and other developing countries.
Many teachers were not surprised at these findings. They said it confirmed that even students who read well enough in the lower primary grades may encounter some trouble with reading later. In both middle schools and high schools, teachers usually consider themselves to be “content specialists” and believe that elementary school teachers are the ones who should be helping children to improve reading skills. One method of turning that around is to secure ongoing development by working with a literacy specialist who will coach the teachers on the best way of infusing literacy instruction while teaching.
There has been some movement in the right direction, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which was signed into law in 2002. In general it says that states must develop and administer assessments in the basic literacy skills if they wish to continue to receive federal funding. These exams are given to students in certain grades in order to evaluate and measure improved skills. In addition, many states require high school seniors to pass an exit test if they want to graduate.
If you need further proof that a standardized literacy program is needed for students, then consider the fallout from poor writing and reading abilities in post secondary circles as well, as 73% of employers have rated the reading and writing abilities of recent graduates as “fair” or “poor.” Over a third of the undergraduates needed remedial writing and reading courses during the first year or two in college.
In the high school literacy programs the teachers are asked to make the reading portion of a student’s curriculum more interactive, or “visible.” This program encourages students to gain more insights into the reading process, to read for recreation and to help with their problem solving abilities. School personnel have studied assessments and current research that is available on the reading process and realized that asking students to “read to learn” is difficult to do without supplying the proper tools for them to achieve this successfully. Many of the pilot literacy programs are set up to include a secondary literacy specialist who will split their time between classroom teaching and mentoring other teachers. The student’s progress is continuously monitored to ensure the program is working properly.
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