A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE

September 18, 1998

Secretary Richard Riley challenged 500 education leaders from over 50 states and territories at the nation's first Reading Summit to do more to help every child gain strong literacy skills by the end of third grade, or earlier. "From Congress to colleges to classrooms, we can do more to help children to read," he said. Forty-four percent of American fourth graders failed to read at grade level in a 1994 national assessment. He urged Congress to pass a strong child literacy before adjourning for this year.

Riley called for a comprehensive national crusade from coast to coast based on the best practices from new brain and reading research. The Summit follows up on Riley's goal, announced in 1996, of ensuring that all children become good readers by the end of third grade. Riley's recommendations are based on the 1998 landmark report of the National Research Council, "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children."

Riley issued five challenges to accelerate the movement toward full child literacy.

1. More parents ought to read daily to children from infancy.
2. The "reading wars" between various teaching methods must cease.
3. Pre-kindergarten caregivers should work together to develop pre-literacy skills.
4. Children with limited English, disabilities, and low incomes should receive special help.
5. Standards for teacher preparation in reading should be raised.

Riley called on the top educators and policymakers in each state to join forces to retool their approach to teaching children to read, beginning at birth. "We must unite to get out the message: if every parent reads for 30 minutes a day to their child, it will revolutionize education in this country," Riley stated. Fifty percent of all infants and toddlers are not read to routinely by their parents.

Riley renewed his challenge to educators to stop feuding over teaching techniques. "We don't have to end up shouting at each other over how to teach reading," he said. "We should integrate the best elements of methods like phonics and whole language, and keep our focus on the needs of the individual child."

In addition, Riley called for cooperation between all pre-kindergarten caregivers to instill greater pre-literacy skills in toddlers. "Parents, Head Start professionals, child care providers, public pre-school programs, church-sponsored pre-schools, and others have virtually no linkages to help lay the building blocks for literacy before kindergarten," Riley said. "I challenge every person in this room to make it a priority to build stronger ties between these agencies and organizations in your states and communities."

Riley cautioned the Summit leaders not to slight children with special challenges, such as disabled students, children with limited English proficiency, and low-income students. In the 1994 national assessment, 69% of African-American fourth graders failed to read at grade level.

On the same test, 64% of Hispanic fourth graders failed to read at grade level. "The research is clear that whenever feasible, a child should be taught to read in his native language until he learns to speak English," Riley said, "and then be taught to read in English."

Eighty percent of children with learning disabilities have reading problems, but the majority can become average or above average readers if they receive extra help in the primary grades. "We must be vigilant in our crusade to include all children," Riley said. "And that includes children with disabilities."

Riley also challenged state teacher certification boards and colleges of education to require that every prospective K-3 teacher have rigorous training to teach reading, which is not the case today. With 2.2 million new teachers expected to enter public schools in the next decade, Riley said, we must act now to rectify this glaring deficit in teacher preparation. "State certification requirements and teacher education curricula must be changed, and many veteran teachers need strong re-training in what the research shows works best in the classroom."

The Reading Summit convened experts from many disciplines to focus on the National Research Council report and prepare to spark lasting change in every state. Participants included: teachers, superintendents, state policymakers, school board members, parent leaders, principals, state legislators, higher education leaders, reading specialists, special education and bilingual coordinators, Title I personnel, early childhood specialists and child care providers.

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