The middle-school reading crisis

Middle schoolers are a year behind pre-pandemic reading levels, on average, according to a new NWEA report, writes Wendy Wisner in Parents.

“Learning to read is an ongoing journey that does not end in elementary school,” says Dr. Miah Daughtery, a co-author of the report. “Middle school students are still learning to read, with a focus on more complex text, decoding words with more than two syllables, building knowledge and vocabulary, and reading fluently.”

Middle-school teachers in all subjects need training in how to build students' literacy, researchers say. The assumption that sixth- or seventh-graders already know to read isn't valid. And, of course, "remote learning" made an existing problem worse.

Students who don't learn to read fluently in the early years are passed along. Since reading is difficult, they avoid it. Teachers lower their expectations.

Educators should "ensure that a lack of reading skills does not turn into diminished access to age-appropriate content, exposure to the concepts and vocabulary relevant to middle and high school academic experiences,” says Naomi Hupert, Director, Center for Children and Technology. “Technology can be a huge asset in this instance, allowing a student to experience via video and audio the information that is presented in a text book, or accessing an eBook in order to prepare for engagement in a literature discussion if a text is challenging."

Daughtery disagrees, tweeting that, "Listening to a text isn't the same as reading text."

To build strong reading comprehension, students have to decode multisyllabic words and analyze syntax, she argues. They have to read the text.

Chad Aldeman and Daughtery have recommendations for improving middle-school reading.