Report: Keep focus on reading skills

USA TODAY
March 1

Food For Thought...

The folks who give the ACT are recommending that we continue to teach reading all the way through 12th grade. They have found that more students are on track for college-level reading in 8th and 10th grades than in 12th grade, "suggesting that students aren't continuing to develop skills in 11th and 12th grades."

"The report identifies six features that are key to complex texts. They are:

RELATIONSHIPS. Interactions among ideas or characters in the text are
subtle, involved or deeply embedded.

RICHNESS. The text has a sizable amount of highly sophisticated information
conveyed through data or literary devices.

STRUCTURE. The text is organized in ways that are elaborate and sometimes
unconventional.

STYLE. The author's tome and use of language are often intricate.

VOCABULARY. The author's choice of words is demanding and highly context-
dependent.

PURPOSE. The author's intent in writing the text is sometimes ambiguous."