What's really wrong with student reading achievement/ teaching reading in the U.S.? [a thread]
1. Political, public refusal to acknowledge systemic inequity reflected in reading test scores: poverty, racism, sexism, education funding inequity (see schoolfinancedata.org/wp-content/upl…) 1/x
1. Political, public refusal to acknowledge systemic inequity reflected in reading test scores: poverty, racism, sexism, education funding inequity (see schoolfinancedata.org/wp-content/upl…) 1/x
2. Political, public, media failure to recognize *historical* patterns in reading debates and student reading achievement; ahistorical responses to "current" crisis = same mistakes, same crisis rhetoric, and same failed policies repeated 2/x
3. Last 40 years have created hyper-focus on reading standards and reading tests v. student needs and out-of-school factors (see 1 above). Accountability to standards and tests has failed students, especially marginalized groups 3/x
4. Accountability era has forced schools and teachers to adopt reading programs correlated with standards and tests. Schools and teachers focused on complying with programs and not serving student needs. 4/x
5. Now, as a result of combined dynamics in 1-4, media, parents, politicians have misread reading achievement as a crisis caused by flawed teaching/ teacher education, churning yet another ahistorical, misguided round of the Reading War. Reading crisis response = wrong 5/x
Thus: Reading test scores mean something *complex* that has never been properly or adequately addressed by politicians, media, public. Are students being underserved in reading in US? Yes, but not the way media portraying (again) 6/6
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