College-Career Readiness Study

 Differences in access to supports in high school contribute to variation in access to postsecondary opportunities. The study's authors compare nationally representative survey response data from the 2020 and 2021 Learn Together Surveys to examine differences in how high school teachers and principals provided supports to students for successful postsecondary transitions before and during the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Through their analysis, the authors identify equity gaps in which groups of students reportedly received sufficient supports.

Key Findings

• Access to supports for postsecondary transitions was unevenly distributed across student groups.
• High school teachers reported providing fewer students with college and career readiness supports one year into the COVID-19 pandemic.
• High school principals and teachers desired more staff to help with postsecondary transitions.

Mulhern, C., & Steiner, E. (2022). Changes in college and career readiness supports during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rand.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA827-5.html?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=NPA:3004:7584:Jan%2012,%202022%205:50:41%20AM%20PST&utm_campaign=NPA:3004:7584:Jan%2012,%202022%205:50:41%20AM%20PST

Reading for Pleasure Benefits Study

 Reading for pleasures is associated with improved outcomes for students, according to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Program for International Student Assessment. Yet, data shows a decline in the number of those who report reading for pleasure, as well as potential downsides to consuming more information digitally versus in print.Young readers using simple, short texts have not seen a significant drop in comprehension, whether they were reading in print or online, while teenagers and adults, grappling with long-form and more complex texts, did find digital reading more challenging for comprehension and focus.

Kogar, E.Y. (2021). An Investigation of the Mediating Role of Various Variables in the Effect of Both Gender and Economic, Social and Cultural Status on Reading Literacy. International Journal of Progressive Education, 17(1), 376-391. doi: 10.29329/ijpe.2021.329.24

This study is discussed at:Sparks, S. (2022, Jan. 4). How to nurutre lifelong readers in a digital age. Education Week.

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-to-nurture-lifelong-readers-in-a-digital-age/2022/01

See also Baron, N. (2021). How we read now: Strategic choices for print, screen, and audio. Oxford University Press. 

See also Merga, M. K., & Mat Roni, S. (2018). Children’s perceptions of the importance and value of reading. Australian Journal of Education, 62(2), 135-153. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0004944118779615?casa_token=0yUQ08K6i-cAAAAA:TO3HQNGDkKxkZDwasmj8lIZhXztkmFqshzVkdgCvcOgfcXMGFGSHMF_1m8IyBkSLdynPdg1wxByDBQ

 Merga, M. K., & Mat Roni, S. (2018). Children’s perceptions of the importance and value of

reading. Australian Journal of Education, 62(2), 135-153.

School Libraries Status Reports

 The EveryLibrary Institute has released two free reports that underscore the importance of school librarians. (Registration is required for each.)

The first, “Anticipating the Post-COVID Pivot for School Librarians,” looks at “recent research and data about the role, impact, and importance of school librarians and school library programs to create a detailed, actionable set of recommendations for education policy-makers concerned with sustaining successful schools and turning-around failing ones.”

The second—“Could School Librarians Be the Secret to Increasing Literacy Scores?”—is based on research from Washington, D.C., public schools showing that there’s “a connection between gains in the literacy-based component of standardized tests and [students’] access to school librarians. School librarians in Washington, D.C., Public Schools (DCPS) have worked diligently to increase literacy in every school over the past several years.”

Print versus digital books research

 "While a recent study concluded that paper books yielded better comprehension than e-books when many of the digital tools had been removed, the effect sizes were small. A 2021 meta-analysis further muddies the water: When digital and paper books are “mostly similar,” kids comprehend the print version more readily—but when enhancements like motion and sound “target the story content,” e-books generally have the edge. There’s plenty of evidence that writing with pen and paper encodes learning more deeply than typing. But new digital book formats come preloaded with powerful tools that allow readers to annotate, look up words, answer embedded questions, and share their thinking with other readers." (excerpted from Eutopia)

Furenes, M. I., Kucirkova, N., & Bus, A. G. (2021). A Comparison of Children’s Reading on Paper Versus Screen: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 91(4), 483–517. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654321998074

Race and gender in children's books research

 Using artificial intelligence, researchers combed through 1,130 children’s books written in the last century, comparing two sets of diverse children’s books—one a collection of popular books that garnered major literary awards, the other favored by identity-based awards. The software analyzed data on skin tone, race, age, and gender. Among the findings: While more characters with darker skin color begin to appear over time, the most popular books—those most frequently checked out of libraries and lining classroom bookshelves—continue to depict people of color in lighter skin tones. More insidiously, when adult characters are “moral or upstanding,” their skin color tends to appear lighter. (excerpted from Eutopia)

Adukia, A. et al. (2021). Wajt we teach about race and gender: What  representation in images and text in children's books. Brown University Annenberg Institute.

https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-462.pdf

ebooks versus print books research

"Ebooks have surged in popularity since the pandemic began, however, new research led by Natalia Kucirkova, professor of Early Childhood and Development at the University of Stavanger in Norway and Open University, found that young children were less likely to understand ebooks unless they had effective enhancements. “We found a negative impact of digital books on children’s (ages 1-8) learning when comparing digital and print books, mirroring the results of meta-analyses with adult readers,” Kucirkova says. But her research also demonstrated that when it comes to childhood reading not all digital books are equal. 'Our results are significantly moderated by the design of the tested digital books and may reflect the rather low quality of enhancements in the digital books available for young children.'” (excerpted from Ofgang, Dec. 10, 2021, Tech & Learning)

Furenes, M. I., Kucirkova, N., & Bus, A. G. (2021). A comparison of children’s reading on paper versus screen: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 91(4), 483-517. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/0034654321998074

And earlier research: Kucirkova, N., & Littleton, K. (2016). The digital reading habits of children. A National Survey of Parents’ Perceptions of and Practices in Relation to Children’s Reading for Pleasure with Print and Digital Books. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Natalia-Kucirkova/publication/299563417_The_digital_reading_habits_of_children/links/56ff879508aee995dde79844/The-digital-reading-habits-of-children.pdf

Reading habits research

 “The nation’s 13-year-olds are less proficient in math and reading than they were almost a decade ago, according to data collected just before the start of the pandemic…. Nationally, math scores for 13-year-olds fell on average by five points while reading scores declined an average of three points. Nearly 9,000 13-year-olds across 450 schools took the test between October 2019 and December 2019. Along with the test results, the education statistics center also released test takers’ responses to survey questions about their reading habits and coursework. A lower percentage of 13-year-olds reported regularly reading for fun almost every day than the share of students who said they did so a decade ago. And students who say they read more got higher scores.”

NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics. National Assessment Governing Board. Oct. 2021