Blog Entries
Early Literacy becomes a Top Priority Nationwide
Education Week: Early literacy has become a priority all across the country. According to recent research, reading proficiency in 3rd grade is considered to be critical to student success in education. This report, written by Donald J. Hernandez and supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, found that children are not reading proficient by the 3rd grade are four times less likely to graduate from high school by the age of nineteen. Furthermore, if these children are from a low socio-economic background and are not reading proficient, they are thirteen times more likely to drop out of high school. A similar finding is reflected in this video by Horizons National, which emphasizes the importance of summer learning for closing the achievement gap.
The Education Week article highlights several state initiatives which aim to diagnose reading difficulties and intervene before the 3rd grade. In the past year, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, and New Mexico have passed laws which require schools to be more proactive in optimizing student reading skills in the years leading up to the third grade milestone.
RFA has a rich history of studying the significance of early literacy and reading proficiency. RFA’s literacy-focused work has included research on a range of settings, including early grades, high schools, alternative schools, and out-of-school settings. To learn more about RFA’s work with building literacies in and out of school, click here.
RFA is conducting an evaluation of another literacy intervention, this time by American Reading Company. You may have heard of its 100 Book Challenge, an effort to encourage reading and literacy, which was adopted by thousands of schools across the country. American Reading Company has expanded that effort to implement ACTION 100, a comprehensive intervention to improve literacy that aligns with the Common Core State Standards. As it rolls out its 100 Book Challenge and ACTION 100 initiatives in 19 elementary schools in Camden, New Jersey, RFA will study its progress and document its effect on raising students’ literacy levels. RFA will also provide case studies of two elementary schools that have implemented the ACTION 100 model to provide a portrait of successful schools, to identify important conditions of their success, and to provide a road map and a set of lessons that can be used to create other successful ACTION 100 schools. These schools were awarded School Improvement Grants totaling $5.4 million and American Reading Company is serving as the lead partner in program implementation.
Check out these Action 100 videos, provided by the American Reading Company.
Watch this CBS News video on schools in Camden, New Jersey.
Read MoreNew Media, New Literacy: Learning from Youth in Philly & Chester
From RFA e-news: Can you find a teenager today who doesn’t have a cell phone, mp3 player, laptop computer or digital camera? Teachers in classrooms everywhere are in a near-constant battle to pull students’ attention away from gadgets – but they hold untapped potential as learning tools. What can we learn from students’ interest in technology and communication to enhance their literacy skills and improve their education? That was the question posed by Joslyn Young as she spent a year in residence at Research for Action as a Stoneleigh Junior Fellow studying the role of out-of-school media literacy and its effect on learning.
The ubiquity and usefulness of technology does not seem to have an end in sight, and as such, the preliminary results of Joslyn’s research on media literacy have implications for every teacher, parent and researcher. Visit our website to find a portal of resources, videos and presentations that delve further into the field of media literacy, and can provide background, insight and food for thought about this emerging area of study.
Joslyn, along with two other Stoneleigh Junior Fellows, will present her year-long research today at the 2011 Stoneleigh Junior Fellowship Presentation.
Students Find their Voices through Film
WHYY/Newsworks: Thirty-Two students from the Voices of Youth Anti-Violence Project gathered to display their films which both aim to decrease violence and encourage youth to make thoughtful decisions about their lives. According to the article, the first film, “Know (the) Ledge,” depicts the story of a young boy who is persuaded to commit an act of robbery and is caught by the police. The second film, “My Block is Crazy,” displays real-life incidents of violence through news clips as well as an appearance by Mayor Michael Nutter.
Similar to Voices of Youth, Research for Action’s Joslyn Young spent this past year encouraging young people to find their voices and create meaningful messages through film. Through her organization, Chester Voices for Change, Joslyn, a Stoneleigh Foundation Junior Fellow for 2010-11, taught several students in Chester, Pa. the art of film and radio production through all stages, including: writing, acting, shooting, and editing. While at RFA, Joslyn conducted research on how adolescents use media production as a form of literacy in after-school programs. Check out one of Joslyn’s presentations, “Multiple Modalities & New Knowledges: Out of School Media Literacy and Learning,” which was presented at the 2011 Ethnography in Education Conference. Be sure to stay tuned for more on Joslyn’s year-long research experience at RFA.
See Also:
Voices of Youth Anti-Violence Project: Fox
Read MoreRFA Board Member Germaine Ingram Presents Creative Jazz Collaboration
All About Jazz: Research for Action board member and dancer/choreographer Germaine Ingram previewed her ongoing jazz project with Bobby Zankel and John Dowell on Sunday evening in Philadelphia. This creative collaboration, titled The Spirits Break to Freedom, is a composition of music, dance, and art which aims to commemorate the nine African-American slaves held by President George Washington in the President’s House. Ingram is the recipient of a Pew Arts Fellowship for 2010 in dance.
Read MoreConcerns that High School Students Graduate Unprepared for College
Philadelphia Inquirer: Many high school graduates, even those with commendable grade point averages, find that they go to college unprepared for college-level coursework and and requirements, which can result in remediation for the students in high school level English and math courses. Similar concerns arise in Philadelphia as demonstrated in this article in The Notebook . Although the region has such a high concentration of colleges and universities, Philadelphia’s high dropout rates often make goals of higher education seem difficult to achieve. According to the article, many Philadelphia public school students who go on to college must take remedial and basic skills courses.
Chicago Sun-Times: According to the Washington, D.C- based policy group, Alliance for Excellent Education, as many as one third of students entering college need to take some form of remedial or basic skills course on topics that they should have learned in high school. According to this article, only 23 percent of ACT-tested Illinois students were deemed prepared for college in reading, math, science, and English.
Research for Action is dedicated to change these outcomes for public school students. RFA uses research and research-based recommendations to strengthen public schools and to increase and improve educational opportunities for students. To learn more about RFA’s Strategies for Improving Schools and efforts to improve College Access and Success for students, please explore our website.
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