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Education Dive
Beyond NAEP: Experts seek ways to address US 'reading crisis'
A new Educational Testing Service report recommends ways assessments can better diagnose gaps in knowledge and improve learning.
Linda Jacobson
Nov. 18, 2019
Now what?
That’s what many experts have been asking since the most recent
National Assessment of Educational Progress results were released last
month, showing a decline in reading achievement at 4th grade in 17
states and at 8th grade in 31 states.
“The NAEP results are a clarion call for change,” says a statement from
10 education organizations that have outlined an agenda for reversing
the trend in students’ reading achievement. The Council of Chief State
School Officers is also planning to hold a literacy summit in late
January on the issue.
State education chiefs, experts and others will assemble “to examine
what we know works and what must be done to improve literacy for all
kids,” says Olympia Meola, director of communications for CCSSO.
“We hope to enhance our collective understanding of strategies proven
to improve literacy skills for students with a focus on students who
are performing in the lower percentiles, identify action steps state
leaders can take to support improved reading outcomes and identify
opportunities for partner support on this issue, including
opportunities to engage stakeholders at the national and local levels.”
Jim Cowen, executive director of the nonprofit Collaborative for
Student Success, says he's encouraged state leaders will gather to have
a "tough discussion on literacy." He said he hopes the summit will
focus on what "science tells us works in the classroom" and avoid
"divisive and entrenched political fights."
Others have been focusing on the two bright spots in the results —
consistent progress in both Mississippi and the District of Columbia —
and are looking for lessons that can apply to other states and
districts.
“Both Mississippi and the district have held to consistent and coherent
education reform strategies for the better part of a decade, which is
no mean feat amid changes in leadership and shifting political
priorities,” Claus Von Zastrow, a principal at the Education Commission
of the States, writes in a recent article.
And now the Educational Testing Service is offering a number of
assessment-based solutions for responding to what it calls a “reading
crisis” experts say is largely driven by poverty.
“Although there are countless social, community, family and other
environmental factors that can be leveraged to improve the reading
skills of America's children, we argue that a part of the problem might
be addressed with key assessment reforms,” write ETS assessment
experts.
The methods used to measure reading comprehension, for example, should
take into context the purpose a student has for reading a particular
text, they suggest. They give the example of a “scenario-based
assessment” in which students are told why they are reading a
particular set of materials and what they are asked to do with the
information.
“This purpose helps determine what information a reader should attend
to, and at what level of depth,” they write. They note these types of
assessments can also contribute to students’ knowledge.
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