Literacy and Reading Performance in the United States, from 1880 to the Present

Bibliographic Data

ID10722268
AuthorsLawrence C Stedman, Carl F Kaestle
Year1987
Volume22
Issue1
Pages8
Publication date1987-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReading Research Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-0553 • E-ISSN: 1936-2722
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/747719
OpenAlexW1979602079
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited20

THE AUTHORS review literacy and reading achievement trends over the past century and place current debates in a historical perspective. Although then-and-now studies are methodologically weak, they suggest that students' reading performance at a given age remained stable until the 1970s. The test score decline that then occurred was not as great as many educators think, and much of it can be explained by the changing demographics of test-takers. The decline pales when compared to the tremendous increase in the population's educational attainment over the past 40 years. However, the strategy of ever-increasing schooling to meet ever-increasing literacy demands may have run its course. High school dropout rates are increasing, and educational attainment has leveled off. Researchers have identified substantial mismatches between workers' skills and job demands, and between job and school literacy skills. In spite of their flaws, functional literacy tests suggest that 20 percent of the adult population, or 30 million people, have serious difficulties with common reading tasks. Upgrading literacy skills now requires new initiatives by coalitions of educators, community groups, employers, and government agencies

Linguistics · Literacy · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Phonics · Primary education · Reading (process) · Media, Communication, and Education · Philosophy · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development

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