“Increasingly, new research across many countries is showing that the best predictor of future education achievement and life success is reading ability.”
–Huffington Post (5/4/2017, Jerry Diakiw)
Reading well is crucial to academic success. Reading is the primary mode of instruction in schools, and it is largely through reading that students gain vocabulary, critical thinking skills, writing strategies, and their knowledge of the world. Yet only 35% of students in the United States test as “proficient” in reading. At Uncommon Good, we make reading a priority for both students and parents. On-going book clubs, small-group reading classes, and one-to-one tutoring are offered through our student and parent enrichment programs.
For Those Who Learn Differently
While reading is the primary mode of learning and testing in schools, reading is not the natural or preferred learning/expression method for many. A significant portion of the population learn more effectively by listening, moving, and creating. These people have much to offer our world, but their “learning difference” becomes a “learning disability” in most of our schools. At Uncommon Good, we aim to support those who learn differently. This is a burgeoning piece of our organization, and our current efforts are focused on dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a neurological difference that affects 15 – 20% of the population and is a spectrum disorder, ranging from mild to moderate to severe to profound. A person with dyslexia will likely struggle with distinguishing sounds, spelling, reading, directionality (left vs. right), word retrieval, and memorizing rote facts. However, people with dyslexia show unusual strengths in visual/spatial perception, engineering, design, creativity, empathy, big picture thinking, narrative skills, and more.
To succeed in traditional schools, people with dyslexia need a few key tools.
Structured Literacy Instruction. This approach to teaching reading works extremely well for all students, and it is absolutely crucial for students with dyslexia. Structured Literacy Instruction (SLI) teaches decoding skills and differs from Balanced Literacy. SLI devotes considerable instruction time to phonemic awareness (understanding and manipulating sounds), and then SLI systematically teaches all of the spelling/reading rules, leaving nothing out. SLI is also multisensory, diagnostic, and cumulative. The science of reading, dyslexia, and the efficacy of SLI have been well understood for decades, but it is taking our public school systems some time to catch up to the science. Schools that have adopted SLI have seen reading scores for all children dramatically improve. Currently, Uncommon Good is running a small pilot program that offers SLI tutoring. Uncommon Good is also working with local schools to address professional development in dyslexia.
Content Knowledge and Vocabulary. All students need to be exposed to quality texts that will offer them grade appropriate content knowledge and vocabulary. Experts explain reading proficiency is based on three key elements: the ability to decode (sound out words), background knowledge, and vocabulary. Unfortunately, many dyslexic students who struggle with decoding suffer a second academic injury when they can’t keep up with grade-level texts and they miss out on information and vocabulary. Uncommon Good offers a reading class specifically designed for dyslexic students (via audiobooks and individualized guidance).
Additional Tools for Dyslexic Students
Audiobooks: Students who complete an entire 3-to-5-year SLI program will read accurately at the 9th grade level. If the student starts young enough, the student may also read at a normal or above-normal reading speed. However, some dyslexic students, particularly those who don’t get SLI in the primary grades, will always read slowly. Audiobooks are crucially important for slow readers.
Additional accommodations—beyond audiobooks—are key to real equity in the classroom. A full list of accommodations can be found in the “Additional Resource/Handouts” section, but here are some of the most common: extended time on tests, spelling forgiveness, text-to-speech software, and speech-to-text software.
Equity in the Classroom
Providing quality evidence-based reading instruction is clearly an equity issue for dyslexic students. Unless we effectively address the needs of this large segment of the student population, we are effectively denying dyslexic students an equitable education. Experts have known for decades how to identify and support people with dyslexia, but our teacher preparation programs, school assessment protocols, and school curricula/materials do not reflect this knowledge. As a result, our teachers are unable to teach 15 – 20% of the population to read proficiently. Many middle- and upper-income students will have an adult in their lives who will see the reading difficulty and who will hire private support (for assessments and specialized tutoring) to make sure these students learn to read. This is not a real solution—it is a workaround available only to some and this approach pointedly leaves out low-income students. Low-income dyslexic students are being denied the skill of reading, reducing the likelihood that they will graduate from high school and break out of poverty, and significantly increasing the likelihood that these youth will suffer from poor mental health.
To address the needs of our dyslexic students, the following elements must come together.
- Teacher preparation programs and professional development efforts must give teachers the knowledge and skills they need to teach ALL students to read.
- Schools need curricula that align with the science of reading.
- Schools need new screening and assessment tools that allow for clear and early identification of students who show signs of dyslexia.
- Students with dyslexia and their parents need information about dyslexia—offered in their preferred language.
- Students with dyslexia will benefit from support groups and mentoring that encourage students to discover and embrace their skill strengths and which will help them heal socially and emotionally.
If you’d like to learn more about dyslexia, please click on the links below.
Websites Books, and Online Resources.docx
Additional Resources, accommodations and more
