“One-Third of Fourth Graders are Functionally Illiterate”

[tac]

“One-Third of Fourth Graders are Functionally Illiterate”

by Daniel Doherty

The U.S. education system is failing our kids and has been for decades. Thus, the first step towards solving this problem is admitting that we have one. And we certainly do -- as AFP’s Casey Given points out in his op-ed in The Hill today^source:

     Since 1983, the freshmen high school graduation rate has increased a measly 1.8 percent. Meanwhile, student achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress has stagnated, dropping by 1    point in reading and increasing by merely 4 points in math among 17-year-olds from the early 1980s to 2008. Today, one-third of fourth graders are functionally illiterate as judged by the NAEP.So, what exactly went wrong?

    The answer is not a lack of funding, as teachers unions love to blame. To the contrary, school spending has increased 80 percent since 1983 after adjusting for inflation – that’s triple the growth of enrollment over the same time period. The answer is not low academic standards either, as every major federal education reform since the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 has required states to raise them. Rather, instead of throwing more money and tying more red tape to the problem, I believe the answer to achieving real educational reform is one of incentives.
<snip>
The status quo isn’t working. We throw unconscionable amounts of money into “fixing” American public schools with little or no results. The question, then, is what is the best way to bolster student test scores and raise graduation rates? According to Given, the answer is (a) giving parents more choice about where they send their kids to school and (b) giving teachers more “pedagogical freedom”:
Proof keeps pouring in that this decentralized approach works. The Harlem Success Academy charters in New York City’s poorest neighborhoods are some of the best schools in the Empire State is an excellent example. Last year alone, 97% of Academy student passed the math and 88 percent passed the English sections of New York’s student assessment test, outperforming the city’s public schools as a whole by 31 percent and 33 percent. Most amazingly, 100 percent of Academy students passed the science section.

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It is fairly obvious that the present system has failed the children, and the country. Why not try something different since we are spending billions with zero results.

[DefiantSix]

Not surprising to me.

I had something of an epiphany recently.  One of the things which helped my reading comprehension the most when I was a kid was the whole introduction - along side phonics - to root words, prefixes and suffixes.  This happened in early 2nd grade, for me, but in today's curriculum, it's considered 5th grade material. 

Needless to say, I've gone about looking for instruction material on this, because I intend to introduce it to my son much, much earlier than 5th grade.

[Dori]

“One-Third of Fourth Graders are Functionally Illiterate”

\It is fairly obvious that the present system has failed the children, and the country. Why not try something different since we are spending billions with zero results.

Obama has fixed that problem with the federal "Common Core Standards" experiment. 

I just started researching this, but if anyone has kids or grandkids in school, you may want to research what this means for them.

We're going to get "one size fits all" good socialist zombies.  Keep in mind though, they are doing it for the children.

Truth In American Education

http://truthinamericaneducation.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjJFjNx6jOI

[Johnny Yuma]

Yes , the kids are not getting educated , but , at least no kids are being left behind ... Thanks to W and Kennedy ....

[debk]

Yes , the kids are not getting educated , but , at least no kids are being left behind ... Thanks to W and Kennedy ....

My son is dyslexic. Back 20+yrs ago when he was in middle school, at one of those several times a yr meetings with the school guidance counselor, his teacher and the special ed teacher, I was complaining that he was in 7th grade and didn't know when to use "there, their, or they're".

I was told it really didn't matter if he could spell or not. He was male and would either have secretaries to correct his spelling, or computers would be so advanced as to correct the misspelled words.

I was blonde at the time...but still with a redhead's temperment.

My explosion was't pretty.

This was long before GW. American schools have been on a downhill slide for 30 years or more. While China and Japan and various other countries have done nothing but improve theirs.

We can thank all those flippin' hippies out in CA who wanted their kids to have wonderful experiences rather than the strict learning environment that us oldies had when we were in school.

[Johnny Yuma]

Agreed on the steady , national decline ....

We're fortunate to live in an evil red area where we still have some sort of edumikaschun at our skewls ...

[debk]

Agreed on the steady , national decline ....

We're fortunate to live in an evil red area where we still have some sort of edumikaschun at our skewls ...

I went to school in Iowa and Illinois with a short stint in South Dakota. I think I got a pretty good education, certainly better than my kids did here in TN. But it was a hunnert years ago too.    College was much more liberal, but it was the time of VietNam and I was in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As long as I wrote my essay questions to suit the prof, I did ok. 

[Dori]

We can thank all those flippin' hippies out in CA who wanted their kids to have wonderful experiences rather than the strict learning environment that us oldies had when we were in school.

Obama and Co. are now dictating what the curriculum and teaching standards are.  At least in 45 states that opted to accept it.  States can't change the curriculum, nor add more than 15% to it.

 

[marv]

My mom taught in an elementary school in Sioux City, IA. She only had a high school diploma, but that was okay in the twenties. She knew that the ability to read was critical, so she bought my brother and me a set of "Uncle Remus Stories", and I was begining to read before I started kindergarten.

The only standard hussein and his DoE liberal education policy will raise is the failure rate in life. Liberals, and especially the progies, are intent of maintaining a self-reproducing ignorant underclass whose only purpose in life is to continue to vote them into office.

[thundley4]

Do they still have kids read aloud in class anymore?  I remember in grade school the teacher would pick some story to read and we went row by row so that every student had to read a couple of paragraphs.

Looking back it was probably a way for the teacher to see who was having problems.

[ColonelCarrots]

I believe its a lack of motivation. Parents aren't pushing them, teachers aren't pushing them.

[cmypay]

Working at the local community college working with remedial math levels, I am shocked that these kids graduated high school. Stuff we were required to know in 2nd or 3rd grade are totally unknown to the students these days...like multiplication tables. My co-worker who does remedial English/reading tells me that many of them cannot write a complete sentence, and yet they have graduated from high school. Something is terribly wrong here!

[zeitgeist]

I went to school in Iowa and Illinois with a short stint in South Dakota. I think I got a pretty good education, certainly better than my kids did here in TN. But it was a hunnert years ago too.    College was much more liberal, but it was the time of VietNam and I was in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As long as I wrote my essay questions to suit the prof, I did ok.  

Excellent training for how to get ahead on the job.  You write the report to please the boss or he finds someone who will.

I had a simiar experience in the 80's to what you describe above with your son.  I was told something like "We don't need to enforce spelling rules, we want the child to learn how to right." [write]. So half of P_town North writes like Vesta.    I am neither blond nor red so I didn't go off all that badly.  My shins healed up and I was left out of future conferences.  When I corrected the teacher's note home with a red pen....well let's just say it was a bit frosty for a several days.  And don't even evah get me started on "The Math Wheel".    Sent the lad to summer school that year to unlearn what he had been taught. It was worth it, at least he, among his friends, can actually make change and figure a tip.

[zeitgeist]

Working at the local community college working with remedial math levels, I am shocked that these kids graduated high school. Stuff we were required to know in 2nd or 3rd grade are totally unknown to the students these days...like multiplication tables. My co-worker who does remedial English/reading tells me that many of them cannot write a complete sentence, and yet they have graduated from high school. Something is terribly wrong here!

You want to really freak out?  Try correcting the standardized tests they give the kids to graduate now a days.  It will send a chill  down your spine to see how bad the worst of them are.  I have corrected tests from both North and South.  Massachusetts may be the best of them but they ain't no prize pigs either.  I cannot believe we spend what we do and get what we get.  It is disgusting to watch the DOE reps dumb things down when the curve starts going down. Essentially they write the questions and determine the acceptable answers.

ETA link:  http://nationsreportcard.gov/testyourself.asp

[tac]

Do they still have kids read aloud in class anymore?  I remember in grade school the teacher would pick some story to read and we went row by row so that every student had to read a couple of paragraphs.

Looking back it was probably a way for the teacher to see who was having problems.

I was attending college in Corpus Christi,TX while I was stationed there, and I was shocked to see that many of the kids in that Lit class could barely read and pronounce words. Comprehension was practically zero. Granted Chaucer and Milton are not easy reading, but these kids struggled much more than I thought they would.

Posted by: ColonelCarrots
Insert Quote
I believe its a lack of motivation. Parents aren't pushing them, teachers aren't pushing them.

I went to Catholic schools in the late 40's and 50's. The nuns and brothers had a direct line to my Dad's ear. That was motivation enough for me! 

[thundley4]

I was attending college in Corpus Christi,TX while I was stationed there, and I was shocked to see that many of the kids in that Lit class could barely read and pronounce words. Comprehension was practically zero. Granted Chaucer and Milton are not easy reading, but these kids struggled much more than I thought they would.

I went to Catholic schools in the late 40's and 50's. The nuns and brothers had a direct line to my Dad's ear. That was motivation enough for me! 

I remember reading aloud The Canterbury Tales in high school, and several of Shakespeare's plays, but I don't remember any Milton.