Don't worry. Be happy. There's no 'reading crisis' -- if we lower expectations

Seventy percent of U.S. eighth-graders can't read proficiently, tweets Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

Two-thirds of fourth graders are not proficient in reading, notes New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. That's not good for the future of the United States, he writes.

Photo: Mikhail Nilov/Pexels

Don't worry, responds Paul Thomas, a professor of education, in the Washington Post. Be happy. There is no "reading crisis."

The problem is that the definition of "proficient" on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the “nation’s report card,” is too high, he argues. In most states, a student is considered "proficient" if they score at the level NAEP defines as "basic."

Adopting "reasonable" (lower) achievement levels linked to states' definition of grade-level proficiency would allow schools to focus on "the opportunity gap that negatively impacts Black and Brown students, impoverished students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities," Thomas writes.

One-third of students test below NAEP “basic,” he writes. "That is concerning but does not constitute a widespread reading crisis."

I read that as: It's only a crisis for other people's kids. Tell the majority their kids are doing OK, and the heat will be off.

Low achievers are doing much worse in reading, math and science, write Jakey Lebwohl, Emma Park and Zach Rausch on After Babel. Achievement gaps have been widening since about 2012 on NAEP and every other measure of achievement.

The "massive shift toward device-based education" could have a stronger effect on weaker students, who tend to be less "able to maintain focus and resist distraction," they speculate. "Another potential contributor is the Common Core Standards Initiative, which began in 2010 and involved changes in curricula, school regulations, and assessment methods."