February 24, 2024
Literacy News
A monthly collection of news, data, viewpoints, and reports worth reading. Click on a headline to get the full story.
DATA ANALYSIS
Young Students Less Prepared for Grade-Level Reading, Math
eSchool News | January 31, 2024
Nationwide data reveals that children who were in early childhood or pre-K programs (at ages 1 to 4) during the pandemic are coming to school less prepared and struggling to keep up with grade-level learning.
CHRONIC ABSENCE
School Attendance Percentages Can Mask Chronic Absenteeism
FutureEd | February 20, 2024
Chronic absence isn’t simply the opposite of attendance. There are many schools where an overwhelming majority of students are present on any given day, but an alarmingly high percentage may still be missing big chunks of the school year. Some kids will be out for a week or two in a row, and school leaders know who those kids are. Others miss three or four days every month. Those absences add up, eventually crossing the chronically absent threshold after several months, but they’re not as obvious.
Chronic Absenteeism Could Be the Biggest Problem Facing Schools Right Now
EducationWeek | February 21, 2024
Research shows the rising levels of pandemic absenteeism aren't going down fast enough. How bad are the numbers, really, and how can schools respond?
The Importance of Being Present
Frontdoors | February 23, 2024
Read On Arizona is collaborating with Helios Education Foundation, Valley of the Sun United Way, and several other partners to address chronic absenteeism, which has eaten away at some of the gains made in K-8 education, according to Dr. Paul Perrault of Helios. “We thought those numbers would get better” after the pandemic, he said, “but in fact, recent data has shown the chronic absenteeism problem has gotten worse, particularly in Arizona.”
BUILDING EDUCATOR CAPACITY IN THE SCIENCE OF READING
Amid Literacy Push, Many States Still Don’t Prepare Teachers for Success
The74 | January 16, 2024
Too many states aren’t giving teachers the skills to teach reading effectively, according to an analysis by the National Center on Teacher Quality.
On the Same Page
Bellwether | January 2024
A primer on the importance of reading, instructional approaches, and implementation challenges and lessons for policies aligned with the science of reading.
EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES
Oakland’s Early Literacy Model Seeing Strong Results
Axios | January 9, 2024
A study by CRPE/ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College showed favorable results from an early literacy program that trains community members to serve as in-school literacy tutors.
‘Short Burst’ Tutoring in Literacy Shows Promise for Young Readers
The74 | January 17, 2024
Research from Stanford University showed that small, regular interactions with a reading tutor – about 5 to 7 minutes – can make a big impact on young students’ reading skills.
