The Alliance For Excellent Education recognizes that many high school students do not have adequate reading skills. "The realization", the Alliance says," of this problem among educators and policymakers has created a new demand for programs intended to improve older students' reading skills to a point where they can participate in classes with their peers without the stigma and frustration that comes with struggling to read and write. The availability of such programs requires that practitioners as well as policymakers be better equipped to answer the question, 'How can you know a good adolescent literacy program when you see one?'"

CHOOSING AN ADOLESCENT LITERACY PROGRAM
ISN'T AS EASY AS ABC

(June 2, 2004 - Washington, DC) Twenty-five percent of the nation's secondary school students read considerably below grade level, putting them at risk of dropping out of high school without a diploma, or of graduating unprepared for college or a successful future. School districts across the country are scrambling to increase the reading and writing skills of their older students by putting effective literacy programs into place in their middle and high schools. Offerings from non-profit and for-profit providers abound, leading to confusion about the components that an adolescent literacy program should contain to meet the needs of a school or school system's students.

To help school board members and other school leaders judge the value of different literacy programs for the needs of their students, the Alliance for Excellent Education has today released a new issue brief that provides initial criteria for choosing an adolescent literacy program.

Adolescents who struggle with reading have difficulties in comprehending the increasingly complex material presented in classes across the curriculum. The availability of programs to increase adolescent reading skills requires that practitioners as well as policymakers be better equipped to answer the question, "How do you know a good adolescent literacy program when you see one?"

The purpose of this brief is to provide information to help policymakers, educators, parents, and others concerned with adolescent literacy make informed decisions about literacy programs for struggling readers and the programs' suitability for specific groups of students. The brief is not intended for an audience of literacy experts, and does not pretend to offer a comprehensive program evaluation guide; rather, it is designed to help decision makers ask the right questions when assessing literacy programs for selection for federal, state, and local funding.

The brief addresses critical questions that must be addressed when assessing any literacy program, such as motivation, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, phonics, writing, and assessment.

"As reading and writing demands on adolescent learners are mounting, low literacy levels are all too prevalent among American high school students," said Susan Frost, President of the Alliance for Excellent Education. "It is our hope that this document will be of use to decision makers who understand the importance of strong literacy skills for success in life, but are unclear about the right questions to ask to help solve our nation's literacy dilemma."

The brief, How to Know a Good Adolescent Literacy Program When You See One: Quality Criteria to Consider, is available on the Alliance website.