Presentation at Library of Congress Literacy Awards Conference
Martin Luther King: "We are likely to find that the problems of housing and education, instead of preceding the elimination of poverty, will themselves be affected if poverty is first abolished.”
Dr. King was right: The most important factor in literacy development is poverty.
POVERTY > ACCESS
Those living in poverty have far less access to reading material in their homes, schools and neighborhoods.
The Scholastic Report(p. 16): the number of children’s books in the home according to income level.
income
|
books
|
35K less
|
69
|
35-60K
|
105
|
60-100K
|
112
|
100K+
|
127
|
Neuman & Celano (2001): public libraries in middle-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia open more evenings, stayed open longer, far more juvenile books per child than libraries in poorer neighborhoods. Conclusion: “Children in middle-income neighborhoods were likely to be deluged with books. However, children from poor neighborhoods would have to aggressively and persistently seek them out" (p. 15).
ACCESS > READING
Children who live closer to libraries do more pleasure reading over the summer (Heyns, 1985).
Ramos & Krashen (1998): The impact of one trip to the public library, 2nd& 3rdgraders (10 books per child!).
Survey: 3 weeks after visit
Child survey (n = 93)
First time at public library: 62%; Reading more since visit 62%
Parent survey (n=75) Children more interested in reading since visiting library: 96%; Notice improvement in child’s reading: 94%; Child spends more time with books: 94%; Children asked parent to take them to the library since the visit: 67%.
READING > LITERACY (reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, spelling) & HABITS OF MIND
(Self-selected, narrow reading, usually includes lots of fiction).
UK Study: Predictors of scores on vocabulary test at age 42 (Sullivan, A. & Brown, M. 2014. Univ. of London)
- Reading at age 42: independent of reading at 16 & younger, previous vocab, parent occupation/education
- Fiction: high-brow and middle-brow, but not low-brow > nonfiction
Mason & Krashen (2017): Self-selected reading and TOEIC performance. (one hour = .6 TOEIC pts.)
Knowledge of literature, social science, science, practical knowledge: West, Stanovich, & Mitchell (1993).
Elizabeth Murray (Breaking Night): "Any formal education I received came from the few days I spent in attendance, mixed with knowledge I absorbed from random readings of my or Daddy's ever-growing supply of unreturned library books. And as long as I still showed up steadily the last few weeks of classes to take the standardized tests, I kept squeaking by from grade to grade."
Geoffrey Canada (Fist, Stuck, Knife, Gun): "I loved reading, and my mother, who read voraciously too, allowed me to have her novels after she finished them. My strong reading background allowed me to have an easier time of it in most of my classes.”
Habits of mind: empathy, appreciation of complexity: Kidd, D. & Castano (2013), Oatley & Moldoveanu (2013).
Poor spelling an indication of more serious problems. (Published in Washington Post, 3/30,18)
Mr. Trump’s spelling mistakes reflect problems deeper than a failure to proofread (“Elected to read, not to proofread,” March 21, 2018). My research shows that poor spelling is often the result of not having a reading habit. Studies also show that those who read a lot know more about history and science. They also have greater empathy with others, and understand that the world is complex. Mr. Trump is a perfect example of a non-reader. Stephen Krashen
NAEP/PIRLS studies: POVERTY > LITERACY; ACCESS > LITERACY – library balances effect of poverty!
Predictors of NAEP reading test scores, grade 4, 1992, 42 states
Predictor
|
beta
|
p
|
Poverty
|
-0.45
|
0
|
Access
|
1.12
|
0
|
r2 = .72. From: McQuillan, 1998. Access = books in home, school, community. Replication Krashen et al; 2012.
Predictors of reading - The PIRLS 2006: over 40 countries, tested in first language
Predictor
|
beta
|
p
|
SES
|
0.41
|
0.005
|
Independent reading
|
0.16
|
0.14
|
Library: 500 books
|
0.35
|
0.005
|
Instruction
|
-0.19
|
0.085
|
r2 = .63 from: Krashen, S., Lee, S.Y. & McQuillan, J. 2012. Is the library important?
Replicated, 2011, 2016. No effect for early literacy.
Control for poverty, US scores near top of the world: Carnoy & Rothstein, 2013 (problem is NOT teachers, schools of education, unions)
PATHS: (1) Reduce, eliminate poverty (2) Protect children against the effects of poverty. (How to pay for it: reduce unnecessary testing: Krashen, 2008: NUT.)
Post-script: There is no evidence of a serious decline in reading. The real problem is POVERTY.
Minutes per day of reading
year
|
age
|
books
|
mag/news
|
Websites
|
Total
|
1945
|
15-19
|
22
|
42
|
54
| |
2010
|
15-18
|
21
|
13
|
16
|
50
|
Link and Hopf, 1946; Rideout et al, 2010
Why we think “kids these days” don’t read much: Schatz, A., et al, 2008.
Carnoy, M. & Rothstein, R. (2013). What Do International Tests Really Show Us about U.S. Student Performance.Economic Policy Institute.
Heyns, B. 1975. Summer Learning and the Effect of School. Academic Press.
Kidd, D., & Castano, E. (2013). Reading literary fictionimproves theory of mind. Science, 342.
Djikic
Krashen, S. 2008. The fundamental principle: No unnecessary testing (NUT). The Colorado Communicator vol 32,1. Page 7, 2008. http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/nut_no_unnecessary_testing.pdf
Krashen, S., Lee, S.Y. and McQuillan, J. 2012. Is the library important? Multivariate studies at the national and international level. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 8(1): 26-36.
Link, H. & Hopf, H. (1946). People and books: A study of reading and book-buying habits. New York: Book Manufacturers’ Institute.
Rideout, V., Foehr, U., & Roberts, D. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8 to 18 year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.
Mason, B. & Krashen, S. 2017. Self-selected reading and TOEIC performance. Shitennoji University Bulletin, 63. http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles.php?cat=2
McQuillan, J. 1998. The Literacy Crisis: False Claims and Real Solutions. Heinemann Publishing Company.
Neuman, & Celano, (2001). Access to print in low-income and middle- income communities. Reading Research Quarterly, 36(1).
Oatley, K. & Moldoveanu, M. (2013). Opening the closed mind: The effect of exposure to literature on the need for closure. Creativity Research Journal, 25(2)
Schatz, A., Pierce, K., Ghalambor, K. and Krashen, S. 2008. More on the "literacy crisis": Do children like to read? Knowledge Quest 37 (1): 40-41.
Scholastic, Kids & Family Reading Report, 6thedition
Ramos, F. and Krashen, S. 1998. The impact of one trip to the public library: Making books available may be the best incentive for reading. The Reading Teacher 51(7): 614-615. http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/1998_one_trip.pdf
Smith, C. , Constantino, R. & Krashen, S. 1997. Differences in print environment for children in Beverly Hills, Compton and West, R., Stanovich, & Mitchell, H. (1993). Reading in the real world and its correlates. Reading Research Quarterly, 28
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