Family Literacy & the Achievement Gap

National Conference on Family LiteracyApril 1, 2008

Louisville, Kentucky

Dorothy S. Strickland, Ph.D.Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

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The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2007National Center for Education Statistics

Some Overall Results— • White, Black, and Hispanic students in grades 4 and

8 made modest gains• Female students outperformed males

• Some student groups made gains in both grades 4 & 8; however, these gains were not accompanied by significant closing of racial ethnic and gender gaps.

Some modest gains have been met. Yet, the gaps remain challenging and persistent.

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What Is Known About Children’s Literacy Development

• Literacy learning starts early and persists throughout life

• Oral language is the foundation for literacy development

• Children’s experiences with the world and with print greatly influence their ability to comprehend what they read

• Children are active participants in the processes of learning language and literacy

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Children’s Literacy Development (cont.)

• Storybook reading, particularly family storybook reading, has a special role in young children’s literacy development

• Literacy learning is nurtured by responsive adults.

• Literacy learning is deeply rooted in a child’s cultural milieu and family communications patterns.

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The Role of Family Literacy in the Achievement Gap

Home Literacy Environment is highly correlated with —

• Higher student achievement• Better student attendance• Positive attitudes toward education (both

parents & students)

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The Early YearsFamily Literacy Programs

and the Literacy Skills of Young Children

Research Evidence: A meta-analysis of the impacts of effective home and parent programs on the literacy skills of young children indicate that these interventions improve oral language and general cognitive development —— both are key contributors to literacy achievement

National Early Literacy Panel, 2008

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Meaningful DifferencesAverages for measures of parent and child language and test scores

Families

13 Professional 23 Working-class 6 Welfare____Measures and scores Parent Child Parent Child Parent ChildPretest score 41 31 14IQ score at age 3 117 107

79Recorded vocabularysize 2,176 1,116 1,498 749 974 525Average utterances perhour 487 310 301 223 176 168Average differentwords per hour 382 297 251 216 167 149

(Hart & Risley, 1995)

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The Early Childhood YearsImpact

“Taken together, we estimate that at least half of the black-white gap that exists at the end of twelfth grade can be attributed to the gap that already existed at the beginning of first grade. The remainder of the gap seems to emerge during the school years.”

from M. Phillips, et al (2000) analyzed several achievement gap related surveys in an attempt to describe age related changes in the Black-White gap as children move through the grades (NCES)

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The Adolescent YearsChallenges for Learners & Teachers

• School Structures: Departmentalization• Shift from self-contained to departmental classes• Shift in role of the teacher• Subject-matter specialists • Responsibility for large numbers of students• Unlikely to differentiate instruction

These factors affect learning for ALL students. May be exacerbated for children at risk for failure.

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The Adolescent Years Key Areas for Home/School Collaboration

During the adolescent years, Family Literacy Programs work best when Home and School share a common understanding and vision for —

• Supporting motivation and engagement• Understanding and meeting instructional

demands• Providing quality intervention

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Some Characteristics of Effective Family Literacy Programs

• Focus on ongoing family literacy practices

• Promote parents’ literacy skills

• Equip parents to support children’s literacy development

• Respect participants’ languages and cultures

• Actively involve participants in overall planning and conduct of meetings, etc.

• Make accommodations for logistical needs (scheduling, childcare, location, etc.)

• Focus on child and family “well being”

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The Power & Potential of Family Literacy Programs

Family Literacy: • Responds to a growing awareness of the need for

schools, families, and communities to work together • Is increasingly valued as a key component of

educational programs • Is an important part of a growing body of research

designed to inform & improve literacy education policy and practice

Family Literacy Programs play a key role in closing the achievement gap.

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Literacy Now

Go to NCFL’s blog to share your thoughts and ideas about closing the achievement gap:

www.famlit.org/blog