By: Education, Education, K-12 A modern approach to improving literacy rates in the United States includes applying an explicit equity lens and increasing investment to elevate student outcomes. A young girl engages in her reading lesson at a school in Washington, D.C., January 2016. (Getty/Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post) Adult illiteracy directly affects an individual’s employment options,

By: Cynthia G. Brown About six years ago, I asked a group of the country’s leading reading researchers how many courses on teaching reading the typical elementary teacher candidate takes in college. The answer was “one course in one semester.” I was shocked by their response, so I consulted my 85-year-old mother, a retired elementary

By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg Griffin Knowing children with a family history of difficulties are more likely to have trouble learning to read means that efforts can be made with these children to prevent difficulties from developing.  Are children whose parents or older siblings have exhibited reading problems at greater risk for reading difficulties than are other

By: Akash Patel Recognizing that the ability to read by the third grade is a critical milestone, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a class action lawsuit against a Michigan school district for failing to teach students to read at grade level. Education, K-12 MEDIA CONTACT GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Low-wage workers, many of them in

By: Sarah Roman Abstract Literacy has become an important predictor of well-being in old age. Being literate today demands a myriad of functional abilities, which, when absent, can have dramatic health, economic, and social consequences. The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for defining literacy within an increasingly technological society, and to

Some kids have a learning disability that makes reading difficult to learn. Others come to school without the literacy experiences they need to become readers. Some children struggle because they’ve received poor or inadequate reading instruction. When these and other risk factors are identified early, though, many children’s reading difficulties can be prevented. 8 reasons

By: Kathleen Bender Incarcerated young women graduate from high school in prison, Gainesville, Georgia, July 2015. (Getty/Christian Science Monitor) Education can be a gateway to social and economic mobility. This vital opportunity, however, is currently being denied to a significant portion of the more than 2.3 million individuals currently incarcerated in the United States. Compared with 18