Policymakers and Funding for Adolescent Literacy

The final report of the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy caps a five-year effort to examine literacy skills among students in grades 4-12. It asks federal leaders to pay for more research into adolescent literacy, back key legislation on the subject making its way through Congress, and support the development of common academic standards. The report notes that while elementary reading scores have shown progress in recent years, achievement in middle and high school has stagnated. It is time, the panel says, to expand on the gains made by the federal Reading First program, and extend explicit literacy instruction into upper grades--and not just in English classes, but in every subject area. To remedy the problem, it is stated that federal policymakers should increase the portion of Title I money for disadvantaged students that goes to middle and high schools or create a separate funding stream "squarely focused on middle and high schools" to support that work, the panel says.

Gewertz, C. (2009). Literacy woes put in focus: Panel urges federal action for adolescent students. Education Week, 29(4). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ864142