Adolescent literacy should be at the heart of education reform, according to a new capstone report from the Carnegie Council for Advancing Adolescent Literacy coauthored by SESP professor Carol Lee. In A Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success Lee, along with other leading authorities in education, calls for a revamping of the nation's approach to adolescent literacy.
While A Time to Act defineds the major shift needed to provide adolescents with the skills required for college and careers, five complementary reports delve more deeply into the specifics of how to improve literacy learning. Lee, together with Anika Spratley of Northwestern University, also wrote a corresponding report, "Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy." This report describes the supports that adolescents need for reading in the content areas, or academic disciplines, from science to history to mathematics.
Adolescent literacy is "a cornerstone of the current education reform movement," according to the Carnegie Council of New York. To achieve the required progress, the report emphasizes "standards, assessments, data systems, great teachers and leaders and re-engineering struggling schools." At the event planned to launch the report on September 15, Carnegie Corporation president Vartan Gregorian said, "Today let us set ourselves the task of helping all American students to become wealthy in knowledge and understanding by improving their literacy skills."
The report points out that despite rising levels of reading and writing skills among younger children, state testing data show decreases in the reading and writing skills of adolescents. Many high school students drop out or graduate with skills insufficient for college, the workplace or informed citizenship, the report says. Adolescent learners require a range of strategies and instructional challenges, and the content areas require skills in "reading to learn," according to the report.
Recommended strategies for improving adolescent literacy include instruction based on research, data and best practices; finding and supporting good teachers; and re-engineering schools to advance adolescent learning. Specific steps are identified that policymakers and leaders at all levels can take to achieve the goal of improved adolescent literacy.
A Time to Act reflects years of research by the Council, chaired by Catherine Snow of the Harvard University School of Education. In 2004 the Carnegie Council for Advancing Adolescent Literacy began gathering information and ideas from experts across the nation.