How can literacy rate be improved

This connection leads to the importance of listing five reasons to increase literacy rates. Even if it does not fully bring them out of extreme poverty, these people will at least have the tools to make progress for themselves.

Giving such tools is the least the world can do to help those in need and decrease the world poverty. Blog - Latest News. Five Reasons to Increase Literacy Rates By being able to read and write, citizens can further develop their education.

It is a given that if citizens want a great education, they will have to increase literacy rates. To do this, countries need to prioritize primary education so that the children that are already in school can get a good base.

In a report from UNICEF on world education and literacy, it is stated that the focus on primary education had already boosted literacy rates that in turn boosts further education. Illiterate adults are more likely to fall victim to poor health and to have poor health care treatment later in life.

If a person cannot properly read documents and prescriptions from a doctor, they might sign off on something without knowing what exactly it is.

Interventions for struggling readers have a long history in U. One of the most widely used reading programs in the United States, Reading Recovery, was developed in the s and targets first graders for specific reading instruction. A four-year study revealed that students in the program realized significant gains in reading ability equivalent to 6—7 months of learning in a 5-month period. This was made possible by teacher training sites and partnerships with local universities which train and develop teachers in reading instruction.

Though proven to be effective, this approach is not always feasible for district leaders due to the high cost of implementation—including materials and supplies, graduate studies at universities, training site setup, and teacher leader and reading instructional specialist salary pay—which varies greatly by district and by state. Since , the federal government has given greater priority to increasing literacy skills. Under recommendation from the National Reading Panel, the NCLB Act established two literacy initiatives to provide for the attainment of this national standard—the Early Reading First and Reading First programs—targeting pre-K to third-grade students.

Since its inception, thousands of schools across the nation have benefited from available funds, which have improved professional development and coaching for teachers on working with struggling readers, diagnosing and preventing early reading difficulties, and monitoring student progress. While these are important gains, studies show that Reading First has not significantly improved reading comprehension among students.

However, these initiatives marked an unprecedented federal investment to promote language and literacy development through research-based instructional methods, professional development, and program quality assessments on early reading.

These efforts also paid particular attention to early literacy , which is linked to later academic achievement, reduced grade retention, and higher graduation rates. A poor reader at the end of the first grade has a 90 percent chance of still being a poor reader at the end of the fourth grade, and as many as 74 percent of these students may still struggle by the ninth grade, making it critical to identify and support struggling students as early as possible.

Since , Reading First and similar federal literacy initiatives have been subject to significant funding cuts. Given the relationship between literacy and outcomes related to health, employment, and poverty, the federal government should view funding toward literacy programs as a long-term investment and priority, especially for underserved and marginalized groups.

The NAEP reports that Black, Hispanic, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students—defined as those who qualify for free and reduced price lunch— score lower in reading at all levels in every reporting year.

Patterns of reading difficulty due to generational illiteracy, low exposure to literature at home, and language barriers disproportionately affect students of color; differentiated curricula that are culturally relevant to students of color or that are bilingual for ELLs may help combat this issue.

The U. Department of Education should include grant application guidelines on how to utilize CLSD funds to specifically support effective local literacy programs. Providing clear avenues for the use of federal funding for effective programs may benefit students and families by removing barriers such as cost and transportation.

Additionally, federal guidance should define how to recognize effective local programs for districts where low NAEP scores have persisted. You can help by donating monetarily or starting a fundraiser to buy books for children in need.

For international book donations, check out this list of resources by the American Library Association. Here you can find organizations from the US, India, and France distributing books all around the world from Asia to Africa. Tiny libraries or street libraries are set up in neighborhoods as a way to share books. You can even start one of your own! Tiny libraries are a growing trend that can help promote literacy in your community. Getting involved can be easy: Simply drop off your gently used books to one of these fairy home-like boxes.

If there are none nearby, you can also start your own. Little Free Library offers a kit to help you create your own tiny street library, but you can also create and install your own depending on where it goes. Ask your local cafe or restaurant to help out by designating a space for book-sharing.

The pandemic decreased literacy rates on a global scale. The bottom line is, while children are significantly underserved in school systems around the world, the global pandemic is exacerbating the problem. In areas with low vaccination rates, schools cannot safely reopen. Digital learning has proven to be difficult and especially inaccessible for low-income students who may not have access to the environment, connectivity, or materials required.

The UN reported that before the pandemic, million children had difficulties reading. In that number increased to million. For those who have access to vaccines, vaccination and following safety precautions are the easiest ways toward pandemic recovery, herd immunity, and getting kids back to learning.

You can join the Global Citizen Live campaign to defeat poverty and defend the planet by taking action here , and become part of a movement powered by citizens around the world who are taking action together with governments, corporations, and philanthropists to make change.