New York overhauls the way English reading is taught

More than half of students in grades 3 to 8 are not proficient readers, prompting New York City to require schools to change the way they teach next school year.

New York City Public Schools Superintendent David C. Banks announced earlier this week that the city’s public schools will shift from teaching children to use visual clues to learn words to phonics-based reading.

The old way of teaching reading was considered unscientific and "flawed" by the head of New York's education department.

According to Mr. Banks, many places face similar situations. In Detroit, 91% of students at all levels are not proficient in reading, while in Chicago it is 80%. In New York, if you count black and Hispanic students separately, the reading proficiency rate is above 63%.

Mr. Banks said this has many consequences, citing evidence that 70% of adults arrested by police can read below a fourth-grade level.

Over the next two years, the city's 32 school districts, with more than 700 schools, will adopt one of three reading curricula, but all must teach them the same way.

This is a major change from the previous period when principals had full autonomy over how they taught. It is considered the most significant overhaul of reading instruction in New York City since the early 2000s.

Reading is an important skill to teach children. Photo: Gogreenva

The New York Department of Education's plan has the support of teachers' unions but is opposed by many principals.

“We don’t believe that adopting a single curriculum is the way to achieve the city’s important goals,” said Henry Rubio, head of the principals’ association.

Some teachers worry that big changes often come with inadequate training.

But Mr. Banks believes the changes will make things easier. Teacher training will begin in mid-May and continue through the summer so they can return to school in the fall fully prepared.

Dawn (According to CBS News )

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