Reading Matters, Especially for Impoverished Children

I may have grown up poor, but I was ridiculously spoiled by my babysitters. My parents didn't hire random high school kids though; they took me to my grandparents, who were the coolest babysitters in town. Both teachers, my gram in particular, relished reading to me. Often, we'd finish entire chapter books in a weekend. Reading was always encouraged in my family, and I was truly lucky to have such kind caretakers who took an active interest in modeling the importance of literacy.

As we all know, many kids are not so lucky. A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT series shows a definitive link between poverty and literacy, and it's quite alarming. Using the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test, the Casey Foundation found that 85 percent of low-income fourth grade students who attend high-poverty schools cannot read at a proficient level. But the problems develop at home as much as at school: 82 percent of all fourth-graders from low-income homes don't read at their grade level, regardless of the type of school. In other words, the blame is not just on teachers, but shared equally among underfunded educators and impoverished parents.

Also troubling is the racial breakdown of the report: students of color largely suffered more, with 84 percent of black students, 83 percent of Hispanic students and 80 percent of American Indian students below proficient in reading by the end of third grade. Fifty-eight percent of white students were below proficient, with only Asian/Pacific Islander students achieving better results with only (only?) 51 percent below proficient. The percentages below proficiency are even higher for students from low-income homes.

Third grade has long been used as the mark by which educators determine a student's aptitude for advancement. Beyond third grade, children often use reading to learn other subjects, dooming them to be forever behind if they don't reach certain benchmarks by a certain age. The report explains why the Casey Foundation data, combined with the general wisdom on the third grade benchmark, is deeply problematic: "If current trends hold true, 6.6 million low-income children in the birth to age 8 group are at increased risk of failing to graduate from high school on time because they won't be able to meet NAEP's proficient reading level by the end of third grade."

Several recommendations are laid out in the report, including how to make parents and primary caregivers indispensable in educating and encouraging the children in their lives. There are also recommendations about how low-performing schools can be transformed into high quality learning environments to provide the best teaching to all children, irrespective of their economic background. Commonly overlooked, there is also a recommendation to address chronic absence from school and summer learning loss, two factors that hurt low-income students' chances of advancing along with their peers.

The only good news? Congress is currently reconsidering the reauthorization of ESEA (No Child Left Behind), which we all know could use some serious reform. And, the somewhat controversial Common Core State Standards Initiative will be releasing final standards in late spring. Let's hope we soon see some new options on the table for increasing and maintaining educational standards for poor children. They sure need it.

Photo credit: John-Morgan