Sec. 2. Findings

541 words·~2 min read·/bill/114/hr/858/ih/section-2

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The Congress finds that in order for a comprehensive and effective literacy program to address the needs of children it is critical to address the following: Literacy development is an ongoing process that requires a sustained engagement and investment beginning in early childhood and continuing through secondary school. Developing literacy skills begins at birth as infants and toddlers associate sounds, gestures, and marks on paper with consequences and meaning. Many teachers and staff in early learning programs are not provided with high-quality professional development in how to support children’s language and literacy development.

Such high-quality professional learning and preparation, that is job-embedded and ongoing, promotes strong early language and literacy for all children’s readiness for school. Research shows that writing leads to improved reading achievement, reading leads to better writing performance, and combined instruction leads to improvements in both areas. Students in kindergarten through grade 12 need to be engaged in combined reading and writing experiences that lead to a higher level of thinking than when either process is taught alone.

Teachers and early childhood educators need professional development to improve the reading and writing abilities of children who are at risk for developmental delays or are reading and writing several years below grade level. Middle school and secondary school teachers in core academic subjects must have the tools and skills to teach reading and writing for subject area understanding and to differentiate and provide instruction for students with varying literacy skills. Approximately 65 percent of 4th graders and 8th graders read below the proficient level on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

One in four students enter 9th grade reading below grade level and struggle to graduate because their literacy achievement is alarmingly low. Many of the more than 700,000 students who leave U.S. high schools each year without a diploma have low literacy skills. For those students who earn a diploma, an increasing number must take remedial coursework upon entering college, without promising results: students who enroll in a remedial reading course are less likely to eventually earn a degree or certificate.

Fewer than 2 in 10 high school students who graduated in 2014 met all 4 ACT College Readiness Benchmarks (English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science), the minimum level of achievement that ACT indicates is necessary if students are to experience success in first-year college courses. Roughly 40 percent of secondary school graduates lack the literacy skills employers seek. The 25 fastest growing professions have higher than average literacy demands while the fastest declining professions have lower than average literacy demands.

The intellectual and linguistic skills necessary for reading and writing must be developed through explicit, intentional, and systematic language activities, to which many low-income and minority students do not have access. Meaningful engagement of families in their children’s early learning supports school readiness and later academic success. Parental literacy habits are positively associated with parental reading beliefs, parent-child literacy and language activities in the home, children’s print knowledge, and interest in reading and writing.

Research shows that low expectations for the reading and writing achievement of students in schools results in curricula that do not challenge students or adequately support literacy education, while high academic expectations and quality instruction and supports can boost student learning and achievement.