Publications
and Materials
1999 NRP
Progress Report
Section 6: The Job Ahead
1999 NRP Progress Report
Table of Contents
The regional meetings helped the Panel
focus on the job that remains to be done. A number of
important issues arose during the hearings, including
issues of cost, practicality, methodology and the challenges
schools face. The comments and questions raised at the
regional meetings made one thing clear for the Panel
– if it was to fully complete its charge and determine
the best research-based practices for implementation
in the classroom, its efforts had to be extended beyond
the original November 1998 target date for completion.
The vast database of reading research,
coupled by the thoroughness of the methodology criteria
developed by the Panel, made it necessary to extend
the Panel’s life until early 2000. The additional
year will provide the Panel with the time necessary
to thoroughly analyze the research available and to
respond to issues raised by the U.S. Congress and the
Charge to the Panel issued by the director of the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Following are some of the issues the
Panel will address in the remaining months of its tenure.
- Defining literacy.
Most Americans define literacy very narrowly as the
ability to read and write. But national proponents
of literacy strategies generally take a broader view.
Organizations such as the National Institute for Literacy,
for example, believe literacy means having the reading
skills adequate to become self sufficient, stay current
with developing innovations and knowledge, and progress
in jobs and lifestyle.
Taking a broader view raises the
stakes. It suggests that literacy is a problem that
affects more students, more adults, the businesses
that employ them and — in general — the
national economy. The Panel needs to address how
it defines literacy and how it might develop the
strategies for getting the public to understand
and accept the concept of what literacy means within
the context of the Panel’s findings.
- What and how to teach. One
of the most pressing needs regarding reading instruction
is that of gathering information on what to teach
and how to teach it. Currently, many teachers do not
have the answers to these questions, due in part to
an absence of empirical evidence that would enable
administrators, teachers, and parents to determine
specifically what should be taught.
- Classroom readiness. In addition
to answering the what and how involved in reading
instruction, the Panel will also need to address the
issues of what is ready for immediate implementation
in the classroom and whether classrooms are ready
for such implementation.
- Addressing the issues facing
schools. Schools face a daunting number of challenges.
A significant number of teachers are not exposed to
the research findings that emphasize the importance
of phonological awareness. And many argue that in-service
training will not be enough. They say pre-service
coursework is necessary so that teachers will enter
the job market skilled in the techniques that will
help those at risk, especially those who will fail
unless they receive explicit instruction.
Professional development will be
especially important for those who teach reading
to students in the first, second, and third grade.
Reading research makes it clear that these are the
most critical years in reading instruction and preparation.
If these teachers do not receive adequate preparation,
the students who need special attention will undoubtedly
fail.
Schools also will have to find
a way to engage the interest of the business community.
In most cases, school districts will not have the
resources to succeed on their own. They will need
to tap the resources of those outside the education
community, including companies and corporate foundations.
It will be up to educators to help the business
community recognize that it is in their interest
to support the development of a literate workforce.
- Conquering the dissemination
challenge. Part of the National Reading Panel's
charge is to determine how best to disseminate its
findings to facilitate effective reading instruction.
The Panel can learn from programs such as Reading
Is Fundamental and Reading Recovery, which are excellent
examples of how best practices can be disseminated
through grassroots organizations and community-based
programs. The Panel can build upon these models to
develop a dissemination strategy that will incorporate
its work into the very fiber of daily lives of parents,
teachers, and students—while appropriately engaging
policymakers, civic leaders, and elected officials
as champions and supporters of improved reading instruction.
Successful dissemination and use
of the Panel’s findings will require a thoughtful
approach to the environment in which these findings
are presented.
Further, parents, educators, and
members of the general public already are somewhat
skeptical about adopting a new paradigm for reading
instruction. They naturally will interpret the Panel's
programs and suggestions in light of their own opinions
and beliefs. Therefore, the Panel must demonstrate
how its findings address the questions and concerns
of the American public and present compelling evidence
that its work is based on research that is valid,
able to be translated into teaching strategies, and
will produce results – a nation of readers.
The Panel's work to date has moved
it beyond the opinions and research findings offered
by academic experts. At all full Panel and regional
meetings, the sessions were announced in advance and
were open to all members of the public. Panelists have
heard the concerns of the target audiences—those
who will be using and disseminating the Panel's findings.
The regional meetings, for example, have helped establish
the Panel's work as a national effort to find the best
ways to teach reading. And the meetings have widened
the field of inquiry by treating parents, educators,
and concerned members as valuable colleagues with information
and experiences to contribute.
In the end, if the Panel achieves
its objective, its work will provide practitioners with
science-based knowledge concerning the direction and
skills necessary to lift student performance to new
heights. Since students usually are taught by parents
and teachers, rather than by experimenters and scholars,
the Panel expects that its work will help construct
the needed bridge between research and practice.
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1999 NRP Progress Report Table of Contents
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