Dancing With The Stars finale
Missing in America Memorial
Madison Commencement
Home > Blogs > Middletown School News and Issues > Archives > 2010 > May > 18
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Two-thirds of Ohio fourth graders not proficient in reading
Here’s something for educators and parents to consider when thinking about summer reading plans for their children:
Results released today, May 18, from the National Assessment of Educational Progress report 64 percent of Ohio fourth graders are not proficient in reading. Ohio’s performance narrowly beats the national average of 67 percent of fourth graders who are not able to read at their own grade level. The statistics are worse for children in low-income families: four of five fourth graders from low-income families are also not proficient in reading.
Representatives from the Annie E. Casey Foundation said during a national webcast that the failure to help children from low-income families reach this milestone cements educational failure and poverty into the next generation. As a result, the foundation is focusing attention on the critical importance of achieving grade-level reading proficiency for all children by the end of third grade.
This call for a renewed emphasis on reading success is introduced by a special KIDS COUNT report, Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters, and is supported by a broad coalition including, America’s Promise Alliance, Mission: Readiness, and United Way Worldwide.
“Until third grade, children are learning to read. After third grade, they also are reading to learn. When kids are not reading by fourth grade, they almost certainly get on a glide path to poverty,” said Ralph Smith, Executive Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “Poor reading test scores are profoundly disappointing to all of us who see school success and high school graduation as beacons in the battle against intergenerational poverty.”
Although NAEP scores have shown incremental increases over the past 15 years for most students, disparities in reading achievement persist across economic, racial, and ethnic groups. The share of low-income Black, Hispanic, and Native American students who score below proficient on the NAEP reading test is much higher (89 percent, 87 percent and 85 percent, respectively) than the share of low-income white or Asian/Pacific Islander students (76 percent and 70 percent).
“The stressors facing the most vulnerable kids and families include more health problems that interfere with early learning, fewer early interactions that foster language development, plus limited access to high-quality early childhood
and pre-K programs,” said Patrick T. McCarthy, President and CEO of the Casey Foundation. “The parents of children who attend low-performing, under-resourced schools may be less able or comfortable interacting with schools on their children’s behalf. They may be distracted by hunger, housing insecurity, and family mobility.”
Alma Powell of America’s Promise Alliance noted that the number one predictor of a young person’s success is whether they graduate high school, and early reading skills are essential to achieving that milestone.
“The National Research Council has shown that a child who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by the end of third grade is unlikely to graduate from high school,” said Powell. “Paying attention to risk indicators like this and others, such as attendance and truancy rates, allows us to intervene early when we can make a real difference.”
Permalink | Comments (43) | Post your comment | Categories: literacy
Tweet
