There is a serious problem in this country among young people because they cannot read well enough to get a good job with a career path once they leave school, participate in civic responsibilities, or even read a book or newspaper (Every, 2003). Because of their low level of practical literacy, they are being left behind at a time when society and the workplace are becoming increasingly technological and requiring higher levels of reading, writing, and communication skills to compete. The No Child Left Behind Act attempts to make American schools face the fact that young people are leaving school without adequate reading and writing skills because it requires they be proficient in reading/language arts and mathematics by the end of 2013-2014.
The Partnership for Reading, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the office of Vocational and Adult Education, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and the Institute of Education Sciences within the US Department of Education are all supporting research projects aimed at developing new knowledge in the area of adolescent literacy. They are focusing on the cognitive, perceptual, behavioral, genetic and neurobiological mechanisms influential in identifying, preventing, and remediating reading and writing disabilities in adolescents.
These strong measures and intense research are necessary because it is estimated that one-third of students enter ninth grade with reading skills that are two or more years below grade level (Every, 2003). Twenty-eight percent of 12th grade public school students scored below the ôbasicö level of the National Assessment of Education Progress in 2002, and the reading skills of 17-year-olds have not improved over the last three decades - the average score for 17-year olds in 1999 was no higher than in 1971. Thirty-five percent of undergraduate students have to participate in remedial education courses durin...