I appreciate Dr. Joseph Spagnolo’s initiative to create new training programs and to seek funds to raise the reading scores of Illinois children, as reported on National Public Radio.
I was troubled, though, by your Sept. 11 story “Schools rise to crisis of falling scores in reading” (MetroNorthwest) that suggested the way to deal with the problem is to change the test. Evidence from other sources hints that reading skills are not improving, but I suspect it’s because many of the reform efforts are misplaced.
What is needed is an application of the sports ethic to reading: practice. Teachers don’t need fancy, expensive training programs and the employment of reading consultants to teach reading. Almost all students have the basic reading skills by the 3rd or 4th grade. What they lack is practice. Children know the basics of running and kicking and catching, yet no one would consider putting them on the playing field without lots of practice. That, in effect, is what we do to readers all the time. If students spent half the time every day on reading that they spend practicing football or basketball, I suspect reading scores would skyrocket.
