Share this infographic on your site!
Embed this infographic on your site!
The editors at Top Education Degrees decided to research the topic of: Math is Hard, But Reading is HarderWhy 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 Common finding throughout the nation Fifth grade students are usually several years behind in both math and reading 2012: 100% of the 7th grade students had proficient or advanced scores in standardized math tests Just over 50% met the same standards 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% reach this level for reading 2011: 29% of low-income 8th graders showed proficient or advanced levels in standardized math tests Only 17% showed the same levels in reading Why does income matter?According to teachers, administrators and psychologists 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 32m fewer words than children from higher income families Many low-income students come from homes where English is not the spoken language Over 10m US students are from immigrant households 1 out of every 5 public school students 78% do not speak English at home Reading is much more ambiguous Students with a disadvantaged vocabulary find it more difficult to catch up Reading and comprehension require more abstract thought Math has clearer rules which makes it easier to teach and to understand Look at the SAT. See the SAT scores drop.2012: Reading scores for the SAT reached a four-decade low Average reading scores = 496 Down by 34 points since 1972 Average writing scores = 488 Down by 9 points since 2006 (when that subject was first tested) Math scores remain largely unchanged The ability to answer questions about sentence structure, vocabulary and comprehension continues to decline for college-bound teens Experts say the low SAT scores are related to the number of students taking the test More than 1.6m students took the test last year 44% of students were from minority groups 1/4 of test takers are from low-income families More than 1/4 were from families where English is not the spoken language Scores dropped for every racial group except for Asian Only 43% of test takers scored high enough to indicate likely success in college Family income and test scores are definitely related (on average) Scores increase with every $20k in additional family income Children are being left behindExperts say Bush's No Child Left Behind law plays a major role in the decline of test scores The law does not address barriers faced by many students Low-income students are more likely to face hunger lack of health care vocabulary deficiency The law also narrows the curriculum for teachers Teachers are required to try to teach within the limits of students who are at lower levels The needs of some are not being met The proficiency of others is not being expanded It may be time to reconsider the notion that "one-size-fits-all" isn't working in our schools. What do you think? Sources- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/education/reading-gains-lag-improvements-in-math.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 - http://www.cis.org/2012-profile-of-americas-foreign-born-population - http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-24/local/35495510_1_scores-board-president-gaston-caperton-test-takers - http://www.npr.org/2011/09/15/140513396/sat-reading-scores-reach-record-low |