National reading scores are at all time lows
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Anonymous
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The problem is in the schools and homes.
The class sizes are too large , the quality of teachers has nose dived, teachers are constantly pulled away from students to do admin and data tasks, the Chromebook’s provide an entertainment distraction and temptation for the students and the schools have stopped or severely curtailed giving out physical books to save money. In homes, there is no boredom. Between video games, you tube, large screens with animated movies or super heroes , and later social media there is no joy or excitement in reading or going to the library. Parents are more focused on banning books than providing books. |
Anonymous
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California bans teaching Algebra in 8th grade and below: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/california-math-framework-algebra/675509/ NYC ends separate GATE classes; adopts an “everyone is gifted!” / inclusive approach: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-schools-to-eliminate-controversial-gifted-talented-classes/3313300/ Seattle schools followed NYC. In theory, “DEI” sounds great. In practice, it means “inclusion” of every academic level of student (including special needs kids, who can often be extremely disruptive) into accelerated-learning classes. But the acceleration comes to a rapid halt when many students can’t keep up, so the class is required to “teach to the lowest denominator.” A more fair approach is tracking: teach every child according to their individual abilities: accelerated for those who can handle it, General Ed for the vast majority, and special education (required under the ADA) for those who need it. Add flexibility to move up or down, and tracking is the most fair system, but it requires getting rid of DEI. |
Anonymous
That's a different issue. That is HOW Lexia is being used, not a limitation of Lexia itself. Lexia is a great tool. How it's implemented may vary. |
Anonymous
There's nothing about how it's implemented that makes the interface less laggy or that makes it move through material faster. You are stuck slowly clicking through repetitive content regardless of any settings. It's absolutely awful for a bright kid. |
Anonymous
Our schools won't let kids move ahead because if they finish the elementary Lexia levels in 2nd or 3rd grade, then the kids have nothing to do during Lexia time in 4th and 5th grade, and they don't have a subscription for elementary kids to use the middle school version. It's purely pragmatic. |
Anonymous
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HS kids in public do not read books to completion and instead read excerpts. But I tell you with the ascent of texting and ChatGpt, don't you feel we are all guilty incl adults of literacy gaps? I don't think there are some adults who know how to talk using sentences. There's a part of me that while I am horrified of test results and what's become of the education of our kids, feels that the future is changing as whole and literacy as we know it - from critical thinking complex problem solving opportunities - things are different these days for our kids than for us. I think it's legit to question HOW might future priorities change on the career front and also in daily life?
Who knows how to read a map these days with GPS? Who balances a check book anymore? Who writes a personal check? I just feel like everything in life changes and even things we know that have been cornerstones to how we judge success and milestones to what we consider to be part of a successful development to adulthood - things do change. We aren't getting rid of iPads and smartphones. It'll be more AI and virtual reality. Social media will never completely leave. I can think of 20 ways to make a living without having a degree whether leveraging a talent like starting kickstarter campaigns and leveraging Medium or showing initiative and e joying extroverted activities like being an influencer. There's just a lot of ways beyond the go to college and graduate from Harvard so you can make a lot of money approach. I'm not suggesting literacy isn't what we should drive to be nor that our public education approaches are a disaster in this country for K-12. I am suggesting that it may be time to think out if the box to figure out how best to prepare our kids for their future world. Maybe they simply don't need to read books since we have multiple ways of hearing stories from podcasts to audible to 1000 shows, you know? Maybe instead of reading books, it's about helping them prioritize and learn instead geography as the world is so integrated these days. I don't think just screaming about bringing back ways we knew in school is the only meaningful opportunity to help our kids today. |
Anonymous
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Some of these blanket statements don’t apply to all states. I can’t imagine too many states have high schoolers only reading excerpts from books. That makes no sense.
Elementary schools do not need to separate students based on a test. This age group does much better in mixed ability classes. High school will naturally separate the top students with advanced classes. I don’t get why California doesn’t like algebra in the 8th grade. That’s odd. |
Anonymous
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Digging into the data it appears most of the drop in the average comes from bottom groups. Struggling students are doing worse. Other groups didn’t change much.
Probably due to poverty, increasing SpEd and ESL populations combined with less reading at home due to technology use. |
Anonymous
| It's telling that many Silicon Valley families are raising their children in a mostly tech-free environment, including private schools that have banished screens. I think going forward there is going to be increasing separation between the well-educated families who are mindful and vigilant about the damage screens can do to neurological development in children and families that don't care or who are unaware. The ability to concentrate and read longform is going to be a prized skill in the years ahead. It's kind of sad that reading with your toddlers is basically tiger parenting now. |
Anonymous
Yes, if you look more closely at the data, high scoring students remain high while low scoring students are getting worse. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Other testing and information from teachers, schools, and others show that even the best students today have low reading stamina and a smaller knowledge base. |
Anonymous
So, they won't just let upper elementary kids read books during Lexia time if they've already passed through all of the levels? That's idiotic. |
Anonymous
Some schools in DC most definitely were. |
Anonymous
Lol. I may have been a Tiger parent since my kids were born. Regardless of what the rest of the world is doing, I make sure that my kids get both the socialization of public school and the curriculum of a classical education at home. |
Anonymous
I agree that the gap is quickly becoming evident. I am an ES librarian and always ask students about their reading habits at home and whether their parents read, if they go to the public library or have books at home, etc. The answers pretty clearly correlate with their performance in (and engagement with) school. |
Anonymous
No one I know in Silicon Valley allows their own kids to use screens. |