Math is Hard but Reading is Harder

MATH IS HARD but READING IS HARDER WHY MATH SCORES ARE HIGHER THAN READING SCORES Education is on everyone's mind. As a nation, we are often concerned with how our math scores compare to those of other countries. However, evidence suggests that the bigger concern should be our reading skills. Can you read this? Troy Prep Middle School Albany, NY Charter school with mostly low-income students Teachers at Troy say it's easier to help students reach goals in math rather than in reading 2012: 1.T1224524 100% 50% Fifth grade students are usually several years behind in both math and reading RULITICL PUTIES UNITED STATES. met the same standards of the 7th grade students had proficient or advanced scores in standardized math tests . for reading SIMILAR RESULTS WERE FOUND IN 31 OTHER SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT These schools have many low-income students from NYC, Newark, Rochester and Boston After attending these schools for 2 years: 86% of students are proficient or advanced in math only 66% of students are proficinet or advanced in reading Why does income matter? One reason students struggle to improve reading comprehension is that deficits start at a very young age 1980's: psychologists, Betty Hart & Todd Risley found: By age 4, children from low-income families have heard 32 MILLION FEWER WORDS than children from higher income families Over 10 MILLION 78% Reading is much more ambiguous. Students with a disadvantaged vocabulary find it more difficult to catch up. U.S. students are from immigrant households where English is not the spoken language of the 10 million do not speak English at home Look at the SAT. See the SAT SCOres drop. 530 2012: 1711224524e Math scores remain largely unchanged Scores down Reading scores for the SAT reached a by 34 points UNITED STATES since 1972 four-decade low 2012 1972 EXPERTS SAY THE LOW SAT SCORES ARE RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS TAKING THE TEST 44% of students were from minority groups More than 16 MILLION 25% of test takers were from low-income families students took the test last year 25% were from families where English is not the spoken language Only 43% of test takers scored high enough to indicate likely success in college Children are being left behind Experts say Bush's No Child Left Behind law plays a major role in the decline of test scores Low-income students are more likely to face The law also narrows the curriculum for teachers hunger Teachers are required to try to teach within the limits of students who are at lower levels UNITED STATES The needs of some are not being met vocabulary deficiency The proficiency of others is not being expanded lack of health care TopEducationDegrees.org Sources: http://www.cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population http://www.npr.org/2011/09/15/140513396/sat-reading-scores-reach-record-low http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/education/reading-gains-lag-improvements-in-math.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-24/local/35495510_1_8Cores-board-president-gaston-caperton-test-takers NOWSIURCING