Advancing Literacy

Advancing Literacy, a relatively new subprogram of the Education Division, was created in 2003, after an extensive review that included consultations with the nation’s leading practitioners and researchers.

This review revealed that the teaching of reading in kindergarten through the third grade is well supported with research, practice and policy, but that the knowledge base for how to teach reading for grades beyond this point is very thin. The educational community faces a difficult challenge since what is expected in academic achievement for middle and high school students has significantly increased, yet the way in which students are taught to read comprehend and write about subject matter has not kept pace with the demands of schooling. American 15-year-olds barely attain the standards of international literacy for youngsters their age, and during the past decade the average reading score of fourth graders has changed little. Readers who struggle during the intermediate elementary years face increasing difficulty throughout middle school and beyond.

Carnegie Corporation’s first response to these findings was to create the “Advancing Literacy” subprogram and charge it with the daunting task of advancing literacy by affecting policy, practice and research.