User:Nyahbenett/Literacy in the United States

Elementary school literacy [edit ]
For all students, school curriculum and literacy standards are defined by grade level. Studies show that socioeconomically disadvantaged students, including those with free/reduced lunch, score low on reading levels. In addition, English language learners (ELL) and children of immigrants are found to have high dropout rates and low scores on standardized tests. Assuming every student has the same capabilities, school districts provide the same materials for every student in the same grade level, but each student is at a different reading level and often is not able to engage with the text. Without distinguishing curriculum and standards, English language learners and children from low-income families fall behind their peers. Teachers spend a majority of their class time reading and supporting struggling readers, but teachers are not able to do this all the time.

Brown v. Board of Education of 1954 ruled the concept of “separate but equal” unconstitutional, beginning the desegregation of schools. . Even so, the effects of segregation are still visible today, as many K-12 schools are in areas that are predominately home to BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color). This historical injustice relates directly to why a majority of the elementary schools with struggling readers are in low income and/or minority areas today. Starting in the 1960s, there were federal responses to address the problems of struggling English language learners and overstretched teachers. Head Start was created in 1964 for children and families living under the poverty line to prepare children under 5 for elementary school and provide their family support for their health, nutrition, and social services. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as a federal response to ensure that each child gets equal education regardless of their class or race. In response to English language learners, in 1968 Congress passed the Bilingual Education Act. The act allowed ELL students to learn in their first language and provided resources to assist schools with ELL students. Even as new legislation has come about throughout history that grants rights to Black and Brown citizens, they are already behind because of the history of white supremacy. This generational discrimination connects directly to why students who struggle in reading proficiency and/or attend underfunded schools are BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color). To put it in perspective, schools that have 90% or more students of color spend $733 less per student than schools with 90% or more students that are white. This statistic displays the disproportionate lack in funding for students of color in general and the same trend is seen in elementary school of the United States specifically.

Teachers play an extremely important role in the classroom given that they work with the student consistently enough to notice which students struggle most. Studies have shown that teacher judgment assessments are a really accurate determinant for elementary school students’ reading proficiency. They are not as precise as the curriculum based measurements (CBM) but extremely accurate on average. This gives faster and more personal results in terms of identifying which student needs more assistance. In 1997, President Bill Clinton proposed that tutors work with children reading below their grade level.Tutoring programs include partnerships with university organizations in which college students tutor and develop the literacy skills of elementary school students. Using non certified teachers reduces the amount of money that a school would have to put into hiring many certified teachers, which increases the amount of children that can be helped. So many underprivileged elementary school students need this reading proficiency assistance but also deserve the best quality given the historical inequities within the educational system.

Components of the “Tutoring Model” suggest the components that can ensure that service from a non-certified tutor can in fact prove to be effective:

“(1) engaging reading materials that are carefully graded in difficulty,

(2) a sequenced word study or phonics curriculum,

(3) regularly scheduled tutoring sessions (at least two sessions per week),

(4) a committed group of non certified tutors (para-professionals or community volunteers), and

(5) a knowledgeable reading teacher who provides ongoing supervision to the tutors.”

These components support the notion that tutoring elementary school students is extremely effective when it is accompanied by a series of approved curriculum, training, and systems of accountability.

In 2003, President George Bush repealed the Bilingual Education Act and replaced it with the No Child Left Behind act. This act mandated that instruction should be English only and that all students should be tested yearly in English. It did not acknowledge differentiated reasons for poor performance in schools of different states made up of students from very diverse demographics. No Child Left Behind act stated that if schools did not fulfill the listed educational standards, they would be subject to re-staffing, restructuring and even in some cases, closing. This did not serve struggling schools, predominantly low income and minority, because they were being punished for performing poorly instead of receiving more support and funding for additional educational resources.