 Hi all!
I’ve always been an avid reader. Nothing makes me happier than a big pile of unread books and, more recently, a Kindle at my bedside. That’s possibly because I was raised by a mother who insisted on bringing a book everywhere. I’ve thought a lot about this since her death this year, and again while contemplating our national literacy crisis as I read one of our latest stories.
You may be surprised to learn about the high school chemistry teacher in San Diego who shares in the responsibility of teaching basic literacy skills to students, because so many incoming ninth graders arrive at her school without them. At a time when nearly 70 percent of eighth graders scored below “proficient” in reading skills on the Nation’s Report Card, more researchers are calling for a shared approach to literacy instruction, and some states are starting to consider it as well.
It’s a fraught time for U.S. education post-pandemic, with new research painting a grim picture of academic recovery and stagnation, as Jill Barshay reports. And unfortunately, a promising solution — summer programs that aimed to stem post-Covid learning loss — aren’t operating at a large enough scale to make a significant dent, while federal money for them is running out.
Not all of the news is grim: If you sign up for our weekly newsletters at The Hechinger Report and become a member, you’ll get the latest research, a range of opinion pieces and lots of solutions-oriented reporting. Also, we love to hear from our readers, so tell us what’s on your mind.
Liz Willen, Editor
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