Reading+Levels+in+Minorities

= Topic: Reading Levels in Minority Students =

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” - Confucius



(Picture from jacksonville.com)

Overview
Minority students have had the struggle of completing education ever since the term minority was coined. Throughout the Civil Rights movement and Brown vs. The Board of Education, controversies about equality and segregation in schools have peaked. The levees broke with integration, and students were swirled together at various schools in an attempt to better disburse education, as noted in an article about Brown vs. Board of Education (Tolerance.org). With all of this being done, minority students still underachieve minimum state standards in education as noted in NAEP statistics from 2011. These low statistics branch through not only minority students, but minorities in low socioeconomic households. This page delves into statistics and trends of low reading levels in minority students and the issues it creates statewide as well as nationally.

Reading effects all levels of learning, despite what close-mindedness is evident across the academic field. If a student cannot read, how can they excel in social studies? The student will not be able to read their books to study the material. If a student cannot read, how can they learn science? Science has a wealth of areas that include reading and absorbing new information which include biology, chemistry, various formulas, the periodic table, and a plethora of information that cannot be listed in one paragraph. If a student cannot read, they cannot even continue through mathematics. Word problems, geometry, and algebra all include symbols and comprehension needed to be successful academically in this subject area. So how is it that students make it to the 11th or even 12th grade without knowing how to read? How can you pass any class without the basic fundamentals of reading? The answer is simple, and it is also taboo. These students have been passed along through the educational system. Most of these students will not graduate, nor will they continue on to college. It is a dark secret to the world of education that is ultimately exposed in the statistics for the state. College readiness, writing levels, and reading levels all play vital roles in education. If education could be equated into a human body, reading would be the brain, writing, the heart, and all other skills have their own part. No piece can function without the other. Thus the trend is created and continues to spread throughout the educational system of students ill prepared for higher education. Many of these students stem from low socioeconomic minority homes.

What is causing this trend ? This question is not new but still stands unanswered. Solutions have been put in place, but the trends continue, such as No Child Left Behind being implemented with the noble intention of uplifting students and enhancing their education to its fullest potential. It inadvertently has been twisted and redefined as pushing students on to the next level when they are not ready so accountability will not fall on certain shoulders.This one issue is branched to many others that in part point to the education system but also and importantly, to students home life and conditions.

Trend or Issue?
This topic stands to be a trend and an issue. Reading in children is a snowballing issue in education. However, in minorities, this trending issue has leveled off and is still stifling students and educators nationwide.

In a 2009 New York Times article titled "No Child Law Is Not Closing a Racial Gap," Sam Dillon discusses how "The achievement gap between white and minority students has not narrowed in recent years," despite the increased it promoted during its implementation. This article first points out the disparity and need for an increase in reading achievement for minority students. Many who are not versed in the educational jargon, see standardized test scores increase overall, as Dillon mentions, but fail to look at the controversial gap that does not seem to be diminishing. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports reading statistics on a scale from 0-500. Scores for white students average around 230 from 2005-2011, whereas scores for African-American students ranged from 200 in 2005 to 205 in 2011. this five point increase pales in comparison to the missing 25 point gap between races. These statistics are only for the 4th grade graders in the United States. The trend continues for 8th graders with a gap of 25 points in 2011 and a gap of 27 points for 12 graders in 2011.

Progress has stagnated. Dillon further states, "Between 2004 and last year (2008), scores for young minority students increased, but so did those of white students, leaving the achievement gap stubbornly wide, despite President George W. Bush 's frequent assertions that the No Child law was having a dramatic effect." Asian and Hawaiian minorities seem unaffected by this trend of stagnation, as their test results matched those of the majority population of students. Progress has stagnated for urban minorities. illon further states, "Between 2004 and last year (2008), scores for young minority students increased, but so did those of white students, leaving the achievement gap stubbornly wide, despite President George W. Bush 's frequent assertions that the No Child law was having a dramatic effect." With the stagnation of urban literacy and supporting statistics arising, this topic serves both as a trend and an issue. The issue stems from the lack of success in finding solutions. A 2011 article from Education Week headlined "Urban Districts Post Gains on NAEP Math, But Reading Flatlines" (Robelen, 2011). It discusses since 2009, many urban districts have not seen any improvement in reading achievement. This article continues to discuss the efforts made by Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) to explore urban minority statistics at the district level. The mere notion that urban districts have a separate focusing exhibits the urgent need for improvement in reading Countless sources have arisen posing these same topics which attempt to provide light on the situation at hand. In Edweek.org's article titled "Achievement Gap states that, " For example, in California, black students are six times likely than white students to attend one of the bottom third of schools in the state, and Latino and poor students are nearly four times as likely as white students to attend one of the worst-performing third of schools” (edweek.org 2011)." This increases the chances of low performances in minorities because they are exposed to the lower achieving environments .

=Relevance: So What?? =

If education was a human body, it could not function without reading. This issue may seem to only effect English Language Arts students, but it actually ripples into every other field. In the text "Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2013" it is stated that ". By 2020, 60 percent of jobs in Georgia will require a postsecondary degree or certification, but only 42 percent of young adults in the state have either today. Closing this gap requires 250,000 more students to complete postsecondary programs over the next eight years" (Top Ten Issues, 2013). Education not only propels individual success, but also our economy as a state and nation. Stagnating reading levels in minorities do not effect overall success, but has the potential to damage the success rate needed to fulfill the cogs needed to keep our economy running smoothly.

=My Opinion? =

In my opinion, this issue cannot be solved with the school system alone. Home life effects a student's progress perhaps more than what goes on in the classroom. Parents need to pick up the ball and engage in their child's lives more. The culture of society has a great deal of effect on how children learn, their priorities, and their habits. If a child knows his parents will not care if he can read or not, then the child will not make an effort. Accountability and effort must be enforced at a personal level at home for any impact to be revealed as important to a child, especially during years of primary education. Access to great resources are available to students every day. Libraries provide computers and internet, free tutoring websites have arisen in spades, teachers that are willing to spend extra time with students, and many more opportunities to assist with learning opportunities for students of all ages. Hooked on phonics has been plastered on [|YouTube.com] for years now. There is no excuse, besides an acute inhibiting learning disability, for a child to not be up to par in reading.

**Possible Solutions**


 * Early intervention: Hone a program designed to reinforce and strengthen reading skills at a young age.
 * Afterschool workshops: Additional time to refine reading skills can be implemented at any age in or outside of school.
 * Good ole fashioned hiney whoopin'.

Possibilities are endless when pondering how the trend and issue can be resolved. Trial and error from previous education reforms prove to be futile. Perhaps the education system can improve on some aspects, but so can the our culture as a whole when prioritizing the importance of literacy and education in our children.

**Download a proposal focused on this trend/issue in education here:** [[file:Senoir_EDCI6158_proposal.doc]]
=Bibliography = This article evaluates the NAEP testing of literacy: Applegate, A. J., Applegate, M., McGeehan, C. M., Pinto&, C. M., & Kong, A. (2009). The Assessment of Thoughtful Literacy in NAEP: Why the States Aren't Measuring Up. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Reading Teacher //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">, //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">62 //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">(5), 372-381.

This source discusses recent trends in high school and college writing: Addison, Joanne and McGee, James. Writing in High School/Writing in College: Research Trends and Future Directions. September 2010.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Robelen, E. W. (2011). Urban Districts Post Gains on NAEP Math, But Reading Flatlines. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Education Week //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">, //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">31 //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">(14), 6-7.

This source shows statistics on reading levels: []

This source summarizes the gaps left by No Child Left Behind: []

This source discusses in brief, SAT scores across different ethnicities in the nation: []

This source discusses the achievement gap in education in aspects of race and socioeconomic standards: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">@http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/achievement-gap/

This source list the top ten issues and trends in education in Georgia: "Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2013." []