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Releases and Congressional Testimony
Congressional
Testimony
Dr. Duane Alexander
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee's
Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services,
and Education
Mr. Chairman, I am Duane Alexander,
Director of the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.
Thank you for convening this hearing as the forum for
presentation to the Congress of the final report of
the National Reading Panel.
In November of 1997, this committee,
as part of its report on appropriations for Fiscal Year
1998 for the Department of Health and Human Services,
asked me, as Director of the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NICHD), to consult with
the Secretary of Education and appoint a panel that
would review the scientific literature reporting the
results of research on how children learn to read and
the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching
reading. The Panel was to report to Congress its findings
and its judgment as to what was so clearly effective
from existing research evidence that it was ready for
implementation in the classroom, and what still needed
further research.
To fulfill this directive, staff of
the NICHD and the Department of Education conducted
a national solicitation for nominees for this National
Reading Panel. From over 300 persons suggested, we eliminated
from consideration those who had taken strong stands
supporting or opposing any particular approaches to
teaching reading, and anyone with financial interest
in commercial reading instructional materials. From
those persons remaining, as you directed, we selected
14 individuals, 13 of whom are here before you today.
They represent scientists engaged in reading research,
psychologists, education administrators, a pediatrician,
a teacher, a principal, and a parent of a child who
had experienced difficulty learning to read. To chair
the panel, I appointed Dr. Donald Langenberg, a physicist
by training, with no vested interest in reading instruction
approaches other than in his role as Chancellor of the
University System of Maryland, which is involved in
preparation of teachers to be effective in teaching
reading. He skillfully led the Panel and will be presenting
its report.
The Panel first met in April 1998.
At that time I charged the Panel with answering the
following questions:
- What is known about the basic process
by which children learn to read?
- What are the most common instructional
approaches in use in the United States to teach children
to learn to read? What are the scientific underpinnings
for each of these methodologic approaches, and what
assessments have been done to validate their underlying
scientific rationale? What conclusions about the scientific
basis for these approaches does the Panel draw from
these assessments?
- What assessments have been made
of the effectiveness of each of these methodologies
in actual use in helping children develop critical
reading skills, and what conclusions does the Panel
draw from these assessments?
- Based on answers to the preceding
questions, what does the Panel conclude about the
readiness for implementation in the classroom of these
research results?
- How are teachers trained to teach
children to read, and what do studies show about the
effectiveness of this training? How can this knowledge
be applied to improve this training?
- 6. What practical findings from
the Panel can be used immediately by parents, teachers,
and other educational audiences to help children learn
how to read, and how can conclusions of the Panel
be disseminated most effectively?
- What important gaps remain in our
knowledge of how children learn to read, the effectiveness
of different instructional methods for teaching reading,
and improving the preparation of teachers in reading
instruction that could be addressed by additional
research?
The Panel members took this charge
seriously and went about their work conscientiously
and with a high degree of professionalism. They broke
new ground in their field in developing the methodology
for critical review and analysis of research literature,
and provided valuable service to the nation in preparing
their report. I would like to thank the Panel members
for their many hours of hard work in gathering and evaluating
data and writing this report, and to thank also the
graduate students, many of whom are here today, who
worked with them on this project. I would also like
to thank the staff of the Panel, particularly Dr. Bill
Dommel, the Executive Director, who is not able to be
here today, for the strong support they provided for
the Panel.
The presentation today of the report
of the Panel to you and to your House counterparts,
as well as to Secretary of Education Richard Riley and
Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala,
fulfills most, but not all, of our charge. You also
asked us to plan to disseminate this report broadly.
We plan not only to disseminate it but to work vigorously
for its implementation. Panel members have agreed to
assist with this effort, so some of their work will
continue as well.
Mr. Chairman, I consider this report
to be one of the most significant and important things
I have been asked to do in my 14 years as Director of
the NICHD. The significance of these findings for the
well-being of our children and their families and teachers,
and the implications for the future literacy of this
nation and for the economic prosperity and global competitiveness
of our people is enormous. Thank you for your wisdom
and foresight in asking that this work be done, and
for your confidence in assigning responsibility for
carrying it out to the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development.
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