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97% Satisfactory Literacy
for American 15-year-olds
in 25 Years or Less
an Achievable Goal but ONLY IF
SET!
A Call for the Creation of
Education's Answer
to the Space Program:
A Center for the Development of
Reading Comprehension Delivery Systems
The Need for 97%
Satisfactory Literacy--Obvious, unfortunately. Anyone who has not
read about studies that demonstrate the vast numbers of young adults who cannot
satisfactorily read and write and anyone who hasn't encountered these
unfortunate people most likely will never be convinced of the need. Those
who have read the studies or read about the studies need no convincing.
The exact definitions of what constitutes satisfactory literacy should be left
up to the decisions of the initial planning group for The Center for the
Development of Reading Comprehension Delivery Systems.
Why the 15-Year-Old Measuring
Point?
- In most states students may quit school the moment they
reach 16. To have an age older than 15 for the measuring point would
be impractical. We need to be able to obtain satisfactory
determinations of the true percentage of those who have attained
satisfactory literacy. It will be much easier to do this if the
testing occurs before age 16 than afterwards.
- Attaining a satisfactory reading level at the end of 1st,
2nd, or 3rd grades does NOT in and of itself mean that the student will be
able to read satisfactorily adult reading materials upon leaving school.
- By focusing upon the end-product, the best minds in the
field of reading certainly should be able to come up with a program that
fits the natural continuum of the learning-to-read process that extends
beyond the early elementary years.
- Students who achieve a minimum reading level of 10.0 by the
time they are 16 rarely regress to an unsatisfactory level.
Why the Setting of a Goal?
- Educational, business, and government leaders advocate the
use of behavioral objectives with measurable long term and short term goals.
- We never would have put a man on the moon had not President
Kennedy set a specific goal with a limited but attainable time for
completion.
- As long as we have no definite goal, plan, or length of
time to achieve it, a satisfactory level of literacy will not be achieved.
- Why 25 years? There is nothing magic about the number
25, but it is an easily remembered number and it allows ample time to
achieve the goal or to determine the extent of its attainability.
Why a Challenge?
- Accepting and meeting challenges is an old establish
American tradition.
- Without specific challenges the status quo remains intact.
Why a Center?
Despite all the advances of technology, there is still a need
for the human element to respond. We still need a physical location at
which the best minds can meet, interact, and help one another achieve the
goals. At present, AVKO believes that the center should be located on the
campus of a university that is already equipped with an extensive library and
has existing facilities that can be utilized by the Center and would also act as
the fiscal agent for grants. What is your choice for the host university?
Why Development and Not Study?
"Our knowledge of basic processes, while not complete, is
sufficient to allow us to begin to apply knowledge about comprehension and
instruction to issues of reading comprehension
instruction. Moreover, even if we did not have the benefit of basic
process knowledge, we should still begin the applied
effort. Literacy is too important a
concern to allow us the luxury of waiting for further advances in basic
research" (color, italics, highlighting are AVKO's)
---P. David Pearson. A Context for Instructional Research on Reading
Comprehension, Center for the Study of Reading, University of Illinois,
1982., p.1
Why Reading Comprehension
Delivery Systems?
- All major studies conducted by the Center for the Study of
Reading and by the Institute for Research on Teaching (Michigan State
University) seem to indicate:
A. Teachers tend to teach according to the reading system already in place.
B. The systems already in place have little or no real instruction in
reading comprehension.
- The publishing industry (at a conference sponsored by the
Center for the Study of Reading) has already said that its major
responsibility is to its stockholders and that they publish what schools
will buy. In other words, publishers are not about to spend
stockholders' money to research and develop a delivery system.
- The best minds in the reading field should be able to
develop an adequate delivery system for reading comprehension if they are
given the money and the place in which to do so. If they can't, we
cannot expect publishers who lack the expertise of reading researchers to
spend millions of dollars in today's economy on research and development.
- The development of delivery systems does not have to ignore
already existing commercial delivery systems. Some publishers would
welcome "free" help in a cooperative endeavor.
Why Should the Center be
Composed of Representatives of ALL Organizations Interested in Solving the
Reading Problem?
- By having each interested organization represented the
Center would have an automatic system for disseminating information and for
getting varied feedback.
- Different delivery systems can be developed and tested that
reflect the different philosophies of the different
organizations.
- The clash of ideologies (The Reading Wars) may well prove
beneficial to building systems that reflect the best ideas from opposing
points of view.
- Funding may be easier when it is spread among different
organizations who also would be more interested in contributing if they knew
they were being represented.
Why Multiple Funding
Sources?
- To achieve relative autonomy for the developers. No
one organization funding the project would be able to control it.
Influence, yes. Control, no.
- To broaden the base of involvement. To let the
American people know that we as a nation are doing something tangible about
the literacy problem.
- To ensure against the possibility of the project ending
suddenly because the primary funding source dried up.
Steps & General Time Table?
1st Year: Incorporation, securing of tax-exempt status,
securing intial pledges of cooperation from reading organizations, foundations,
state departments of education, and the U.S. Department of Education.
2nd Year: Center for the Development of Reading Comprehension
Delivery Systems to be in place with leaders drawing up initial long range
plans.
3-12th Years: Delivery systems being created at basic rate of
three years worth of materials each year. Experimental implementation and
modification. Continual active evaluation of between 3 and 7 different
delivery systems.
13th-14th Years: Selling of the most promising delivery
systems to schools and/or publishers.
15th-25th Years: Supervision, monitoring, modifying.
Evaluation of 15-year-olds should reveal 97% satisfactory literacy at this
point. If it is achieved before the 25 years is up, the Center will have
accomplished its goal and will disband.
There have been thousands of
people who have visited this page, but NO replies
from any university, any university professor, U.S. Department of Education official, or reading
researcher. If you personally know of anyone who can help us get the ear
of any responsible party, would you please contact them for us so we can at
least have a number larger than zero for replies.
All donations are greatly appreciated. If you would like to
support our mission which is to raise the level of literacy to the point where the words,
illiteracy, phonemic awareness, learning disabilities, dysgraphia, family literacy, adult
literacy, and illegible handwriting will no longer have relevance, please mail your
tax-deductible check (in U.S. dollars) to The AVKO Foundation, 3084 Willard Road, Suite
W, Birch Run, MI 48415-7801. The AVKO Foundation is recognized by the IRS as a 501(C)3
publicly supported organization working with teachers, parents, tutors, and home schooling
parents, publishing materials developed by its research, and providing free daily tutoring
at its local reading clinic.
- Call Toll Free: 1-866-285-6612
Fax: (810) 686-1101
E-mail: Webmaster: avkoemail@aol.com
or Write:
Don McCabe,
Research Director
- AVKO Educational Research Foundation
3084 Willard Road, Suite W
Birch Run, MI 48415-7801
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