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“Although U.S. students in grade four score among the best in the world [on international literacy comparisons], those in grade eight score much lower. By grade ten, U.S. students score among the lowest in the world.” (emphasis in original)

A bit concerning, to say the least…

In response, the Carnegie Council for Advancing Adolescent Literacy has issued a call to action. Driven by the vision of comprehensive literacy for all, their new report Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success argues that we need to re-engineer schools for adolescent learners. To prepare our students for success in the global economy, we must focus on their literacy.

This report paints a detailed picture of what literacy instruction in an ideal secondary school should look like. It goes in-depth on two vital, but often ignored, keys to making that image a reality: teacher preparation, support and professional development, and the collection and careful use of data. The report also highlights concerns that can be addressed at the school, district, state and federal levels to realize the goal “literacy for all.”

I won’t go into more detail about their agenda—it’s far too complex—but I will say that the Council offers a clear rationale for distinguishing between adolescent and earlier literacy (for example, the growing complexity of reading passages, the increased importance of graphical representation and the wide variance of texts across content areas). It also offers some compelling reasons as to why secondary schools should embrace a focus on literacy. One of them--compelling at least in a school accountability system that emphasizes math and English language arts test scores--“An adolescent who continues to read as if in third grade will do poorly on a sixth grade test that requires [more complex] reading.”

But whether you believe test scores are valid measures of student learning or not, you will likely agree with one of the Council’s concluding points. “All of our nation’s young people must have the opportunity to graduate from high school fully ready for the challenges of college learning and employment in the global knowledge economy.” That includes the ability to read well.

The report, well worth a read, can be found at http://www.carnegie.org/literacy/tta/.