For decades educators have attempted to avert the “fourth-grade slump” – the precipitous drop in performance experienced primarily by low-income children when reading texts become more complex and the subject matter broadens and deepens.
Despite the increased focus on early literacy instruction sparked by No Child Left Behind, millions of adolescents still struggle with low literacy skills. In 2015, 66% of all eighth-grade students, 85% of Black students and 79% of Hispanic students failed to perform proficiently in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Unless these students receive the intensive reading instruction they need in high school, their chances of graduating and securing gainful employment are slim to none.
On Friday, February 17, 2017 from 12:00 noon – 3:00pm the Baltimore Curriculum Project and the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy hosted the ninth Leading Minds forum: "The Adolescent Literacy Crisis in America."
Paneslists:
- Dr. Elizabeth Birr Moje, Interim Dean, University of Michigan School of Education
- Dr. Rhonda L. Richetta, Principal, City Springs Elementary/Middle School
- Dr. Sonja B Santelises, Chief Executive Officer, Baltimore City Public Schools
- Dr. David M. Steiner, Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy (moderator)
Video other Leading minds forum videos at:
