An interesting article from Krashen, which again shows that teaching reading strategies is not as effective as just making it easier for kids to read. Several hundred million dollars have spent on the Striving Reader program with relatively little effect. When I think of the books, professional development, class time and other resources that are poured into developing the skills of inferring, higher level thinking, critical thinking, anticipating and on and on…what a waste.
To quote from the article:
“The programs are clearly skill-based, with only a brief mention of actual reading. There is variation among the specific programs, but they all emphasize direct instruction, including phonics, vocabulary instruction, and instruction in comprehension strategies. There appears to be no awareness of the possibility that a great deal of phonics, vocabulary and mastery of strategies emerge as a result of reading. “
“The 200 million yearly cost of Striving Readers would be far better spent investing in libraries.”
“I present the results for Striving Readers programs in several different locations, in their own words. The measure used was “effect size” which measures the size of the impact of a treatment. An effect size of .2 or less is considered small. The results are dismal. The differences between Striving Readers and comparisons was quite small, with effect sizes close to zero, and typically statistical significant.”
