Know that reading failure is one of the primary contributors to teenage violence and crime.  The National Council on Adult Literacy found that 85% of adolescents seen by the courts were classified as “functionally illiterate”—unable to read.  [For more about this data, see my book After-School Programming and Intrinsic Motivation, Chapter 1]

12th Grade Reading Scores for 2019
Twelve-graders have not been doing any better. Peggy G. Carr from the National Center for Educational Statistics stated that "The decline in twelfth-grade reading scores resembles the declines in fourth- and eighth-graders' reading scores, where we saw the largest declines among the lowest-performing students." ​

With this year’s interpretation of 12th grade scores, the Nation’s Report Card also listed a number of 12th graders scoring below the basic level.

30% Below Basic
33%  at Basic—cannot read at grade level
31%  at Proficient—can read at grade level
6%  at Advanced—can read above grade level

Failure does not simply vanish on its own. Reading failure when it goes uncorrected leads to more reading failure.  We must change our teaching methods from kindergarten all the way through high school.  We can teach these students to read. 

Comprehension plays a major role in these low reading scores.  Comprehension means you understand what you are reading and can apply that understanding.  Obviously, many students across the nation are struggling with comprehension. The methods that we are using to teach comprehension are definitely not working. We need a new approach.

The NAEP criteria for a basic score required the student to be able to:

• “Identify elements of meaning and form and relate them to the overall meaning of the text”
• “Make inferences, develop interpretations, make connections between texts, and draw conclusions”
• “Provide some support for analyses”
• “Interpret the meaning of a word as it is used in the text”

 As you can see, the requirements for a basic score were not that challenging.  After 12 years of classroom education, a student should be able to meet these basic requirements.

As Peggy Carr, the Associate Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, stated, “…over the past decade there has been no progress in either mathematics or reading performance, and the lowest performing students are doing worse….” 

Classroom education in reading is in terrible trouble.  No, not just because of the coronavirus pandemic or because students are being taught online, classroom teaching methods in reading are not working.  Methods being used in the classroom right now are failing teaching methods.  They have been shown to be failing for over 20 years.  When will we wake up, stop wasting children’s lives with phonics and cueing methods, and begin to actually teach an effective reading approach?

Our classroom teaching methods should be helping students get ready for college or for whatever type of career job they are planning.  Unfortunately, failure does not help any student get ready to assume a professional position in society.
 
Asking why reforms have not been working, educational policy author, Maureen Downey discusses the poor preparation that our students have been receiving:
 
“The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as The Nation's Report Card, also shows that an estimated 37 percent of 12th-graders are prepared for college-level coursework in each subject. In 2013, the last time the assessments were given, an estimated 39 percent of grade 12 students were prepared for college-level mathematics and an estimated 38 percent for college-level reading.” 
 

Approximately 61% of 12th graders reported on a questionnaire that they wanted to go to college, but only 37% are prepared for college-level work, and the scores are getting worse each year instead of better.  How are 12th graders who cannot read at the proficient level going to succeed in college? 
 
The answer:  they are not.
 
Why Are Students Failing in Reading?
 
Because of the teaching methods we use in the classroom to teach reading.  The approach we use to teach reading must change before scores get worse.  Yes, reading scores will continue to get worse unless we change the teaching methods that we are using in the classroom.
 
Comprehension is one of the major reasons that 12th grade scores were so low.  Comprehension is also one of the reading skills that I want us to examine in detail.
 
Many researchers are beginning to say that comprehension is one of the primary reasons for reading failure.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion over how we can effectively teach comprehension.
 
Comprehension is essential in college classes.  Comprehension skills are essential in many business jobs.  Comprehension is essential just for life.  If you cannot comprehend what you are reading, you also cannot apply critical thinking or basic reasoning skills when reading.  Understanding both literary and informational texts is a very basic skill.  As Maureen Downey goes on to explain, twelth-graders in the United States are weak in comprehension and are not even able to identify important details when they are reading:
 
“The results are based on a nationally representative sample of 18,700 12th-graders from 740 schools. The reading assessment measures students' comprehension of two types of texts: literary and informational. Students earning a score equivalent to the national average were likely to be able to make an inference based on details in a reading text but were not likely to be able to recognize detail related to the purpose of a reading text.”
 
From kindergarten to 12th grade, we absolutely must improve reading and comprehension for all ages.  As this research shows, reading ability does not automatically improve as students get older.  If anything, reading ability gets worse.
 
What Should Be Done to Improve Reading Scores?
 
America’s high schoolers are graduating with a lower ability to read than ever before.
 
Many try to explain away these scores by saying, “testing is just not fair.” “We have too much testing.”  “We should stop testing.”  “Or that’s statistical error.”
 
Stopping the testing will not make reading improve.  Stopping the testing will just hide the disastrous job that is being done in the classroom.  No, what we need to do is change how we teach reading in the classroom. 
 
Rerunning the stats will not make the scores look any better either.  When scores are this low, there is something wrong. 
 
One of the primary focuses for these 12th grade students is comprehension.  Thomas Kane of the Brookings Institution offers one suggestion for improving comprehension. He emphasizes high standards and more time devoted to student writing: “…the combination of high standards and use of many more open ended items on the PARCC and SBAC tests, requiring students to explain their thinking, to write coherently and to demonstrate conceptual understanding, perhaps we will see an acceleration of progress in student achievement, and literacy.” 
 
In other words, we need to quit trying to teach with worksheets and multiple-choice tests.  If we want reading scores to improve, we must actually teach comprehension.  We must also teach critical thinking, as we discussed in my previous blog post. 

As the Nation’s Report Card scores demonstrate, the method that we are using to teach reading and comprehension at present in the classroom is not working.  Yes, the pandemic will make it harder, but I want to remind you that all of these scores are from classroom teaching methods and how reading was being taught in the classroom before the coronavirus pandemic.  No, we cannot blame these low scores on testing nor can we blame it on the coronavirus pandemic.  The cause of failing scores in reading is teaching method—the way we are teaching reading and comprehension in the classroom.
How should we teach comprehension? If the methods we are now using are not effective, what should we do to change?  In my next blog post, we will turn to neuroimaging research to find the answer.

Often, when I tell parents about critical thinking, they will ask, “Why is that included in reading?  I just want my child to learn to read.”  All readers must know how to evaluate the ideas that an author presents.  They must be able to judge whether the information they are reading is accurate, factual, or even logical.
 
When children first start learning to read, they begin by reading for details in a story or passage.  Later, they learn to summarize or identify the main idea.  Neither of these skills requires critical thinking, but when children begin to draw conclusions or interpret an author’s intent, then they are using critical thinking.  Students use critical thinking each time they ask, “What does this mean?” That is why comprehension requires effective critical thinking.  For a student to make sense of a story or passage, the student must be able to analyze what is specifically said by an author and what is implied but not directly stated by an author.  Critical thinking is a vital step in reading comprehension.  When a student’s reading comprehension improves, reading ability and reading scores also improve. 
 
One of the reasons reading scores were so poor in 2019 is the fact that our classrooms do not emphasize teaching critical thinking.  Why not? 
 
Educational psychologist and critical thinking specialist Dr. Linda Elder states that the reasons that classrooms do not emphasize critical thinking are:  “First, faculty who control and teach the curriculum simply don’t know what critical thinking is.  Second, they think they do.”  Elder goes on to explain that “Most teachers have never been explicitly taught the intellectual skills inherent in critical thinking.” Elder explains that, in education, we confuse rote memorization with learning. In today’s classroom, elementary to college, the emphasis is on memorization, not critical thinking.  
 
What is critical thinking?
 
“Critical thinking is about evaluating data, observations, well-known facts, available research, as well as opinions to draw some conclusions related to solving a problem or taking a decision.” 
  
Critical thinking requires a person to analyze facts objectively before forming a decision or making a judgment.  Critical thinking is based on evaluating evidence to determine whether something is true or not.  Accuracy is essential in critical thinking.  We cannot just assume that students will automatically learn critical thinking or how to analyze, evaluate, and make accurate decisions or judgments.  These are skills that must be taught.  Foremost, a critical thinker needs a willingness to admit that they may be wrong, needs to be able to question their own thinking, needs to recognize their own bias or prejudices, and a critical thinker needs to avoid drawing conclusions before evaluating the facts. 
 
The lack of critical thinking is clear in the question of should I or should I not wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic.  Are people turning to the facts?  Are people evaluating the pros and cons of wearing a mask?  No, critical thinking has not entered the scene.  The question of whether to wear a mask or not is being purely decided by biased opinions, not facts.  Researchers state that 100,000 deaths could be avoided if everyone wears a mask.
 
Yet, people continue to die, coronavirus is still surging with 80,000 new cases a day for an all-time high, and  unfortunately, people continue to refuse to wear a mask. 
 
Critical thinking is a lifelong skill, but if students do not learn critical thinking in school, they most likely will never learn to apply evaluation and analysis to their decisions and problems.  Critical thinking is not only essential for understanding a story; it is also essential for making wise decisions in life.  Critical thinking helps us make intelligent decisions, evaluate the consequences of our actions before acting, and helps us to solve problems.  Critical thinking should be taught when children are young, even as young as first grade:
 
“A child’s natural curiosity helps lay the foundation for critical thinking. Critical thinking requires us to take in information, analyze it and make judgements about it, and that type of active engagement requires imagination and inquisitiveness....  They have to think about how the new information fits in with what they already know, or if it changes any information we already hold to be true….  we evaluate that information to determine if it is true, important and whether or not we should believe it. Help children learn these skills by teaching them to evaluate new information. Have them think about where or who the information is coming from, how it relates to what they already know and why it is or is not important.”
 
Do the Common Core Standards require critical thinking?
 
Yes, the Common Core Standards stress that critical thinking should be a part of the school curriculum.  Unfortunately, education programs are not preparing teachers to teach critical thinking.  The Center for Critical Thinking conducted a study and found that 89% of teachers felt that critical thinking was very important to include in the classroom curriculum, but only 19% could actually explain what critical thinking is and 75% of those interviewed could not explain how they would teach critical thinking to their students.
 
 
How should critical thinking be taught in the classroom?
 
In many schools, critical thinking is neither encouraged nor taught.  Many schools blame this on standardized testing.  Teachers say they do not have time to teach critical thinking; they must help students prepare for testing.  Yet, taking a test requires critical thinking, even a multiple-choice test.  The best way to teach critical thinking is to incorporate it into the curriculum.  Make it part of the learning process.
 
The first step is to encourage questions and to allow students to evaluate and analyze the information they are being taught in the classroom.  Don’t be afraid to have students challenge what you teach; instead, encourage students to explore and discover the truth. Teach students to research and find the answers:
 
“In our rapidly changing technological world more information is available at the touch of our fingers, so critical thinking skills are a must today….  – of all the information we deal with each day-- some is accurate-- but it can be very easy to get pulled into believing something that is propaganda or an outright fabrication….  Social media is a great place to see how few people employ critical thinking skills….  Teaching our children to question facts and research questionable statements presented as facts, is imperative today.  In many schools, kids are not always encouraged to take a critical mindset and question facts.”
 
Teach students how to analyze information, not just memorize facts.  Memorization discourages critical thinking.  Teaching students how to classify and compare information is better than memorization.  Comparing and contrasting two stories or two characters in a story can be an excellent way of teaching critical thinking.  In the middle of the political turmoil all around us, classifying and analyzing the statements made by politicians can be not only an important classroom assignment but it can also be an important life task:
 
“Classification plays an important role in critical thinking because it requires students to understand and apply a set of rules.  Give students a variety of objects and ask them to identify each object, then sort it into a category.  This is a great activity to help students think and self-question what object should go where and why.”
 
Teach perspective taking.  To actually teach critical thinking, we must also teach perspective taking.  Perspective taking is being able to see an issue from someone else’s point of view, not just your own.  Some teachers teach brainstorming with the misconception that they have taught perspective-taking.  The teachers think that they are teaching perspective taking when they teach brainstorming, but that is not how you teach perspective taking.  Brainstorming is a way to generate ideas.  Perspective taking is a way to understand what other people are thinking and feeling--to walk in someone else 's shoes as the old saying goes.  Brainstorming and perspective taking are two completely, totally different things.  Brainstorming is good; it generates ideas, but brainstorming is not the same as perspective taking:
 
“Some of the very best critical thinking exercises for elementary school students involve exploring a concept from multiple perspectives. This tactic not only establishes that an idea should be assessed from different points of view before an opinion is formed, it gives students a chance to share their own viewpoints while listening to and learning from others.” 
  
Encourage decision-making and problem-solving.  Critical thinking requires that students gather knowledge from at least two different perspectives and then learn how to apply that knowledge toward making a decision or solving a problem.  Students should evaluate the pros and cons of a decision or solution.  This enables students to apply what they have learned from the textbook or from classroom discussion.  All students should learn to use a simple problem solution format:  define the problem, brainstorm possible solutions, evaluate solutions, explore consequences of selected solution(s), and implement the best solution.
 
“When children are deeply vested in a topic or pursuit, they are more engaged and willing to experiment. The process of expanding their knowledge brings about a lot of opportunities for critical thinking….  Teach problem-solving skills. When dealing with problems or conflicts, it is necessary to use critical thinking skills to understand the problem and come up with possible solutions, so teach them the steps of problem-solving and they will use critical thinking in the process of finding solutions to problems.”
 
Encourage creativity.  Teaching a student to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-life situations is extremely important in life.  Helping students make that application through hands-on learning ensures that the student will remember what they have learned.  There are many ways to turn a critical thinking lesson into a hands-on learning experience:
 
“Imagination is key to teaching critical thinking in elementary school. Teachers should seek out new ways for students to use information to create something new. Art projects are an excellent way to do this. Students can also construct inventions, write a story or poem, create a game, sing a song—the sky’s the limit.” 
 
What are the advantages of teaching critical thinking in the classroom?
 
The editors at Wabisab Learning, a resource for creative new ideas in teaching, offer six advantages to teaching critical thinking in the classroom.
 
Encourages curiosity.  Critical thinking involves evaluating information in a rational not emotional way.  Critical thinkers check the facts and research to find information that supports or fails to support their ideas.  Critical thinkers are curious and want to learn.
 
“Effective critical thinkers don’t take anything at face value, either. They never stop asking questions and enjoy exploring all sides of an issue and the deeper facts hiding within all modes of data.”
 
Generates creativity.  The best grades in school always go to students who are also creative.  If you are just memorizing facts, you are not really learning.  Finding new and different hands-on ways to learn enables students to generate their own ideas and thoughts on a subject.  Such is a skill that is needed throughout life.
 
“Critical thinking in business, marketing, and professional alliances relies heavily on one’s ability to be creative.”          
 
Teaches problem-solving.  It has been said that Albert Einstein spent five minutes solving a problem and 55 minutes defining and researching the problem.  Critical thinkers do not just throw out opinions or guess at a solution.  Critical thinkers study the problem.
 
“Those who think critically tend to be instinctual problem solvers. This ranks as probably the most important skill we can help our learners build upon. The children today are the leaders of tomorrow….”
 
Fosters independent thinking.  As a teacher, we all strive to help our students learn how to learn and how to think independently.  Students need to ask questions, identify connections between ideas, and formulate their own ideas rather than just assuming something to be correct.  “Getting our learners to begin thinking independently is one of the many goals of education.”
 
Enables students to be successful in and out of the classroom.  Every teacher wants their students to be successful both in the classroom and outside of the classroom.  The question is how do we help students to be successful.  The answer is the way we teach.
 
“Many great educators have said many great things about the importance of lifelong learning skills. John Dewey, however, probably said it best:  ‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.’…. The point is that they never stop being learners. This is what it means to be a lifelong learner and a critical thinker.”
 
Critical thinking can be used with any subject.  Critical thinking teaches reasoning skills, how to evaluate a problem, organization, how to decide if a solution is workable or not, and analytical thinking.  It can even be said that critical thinking “… is a cross-cultural activity for the mind, and the mind must be exercised just like a muscle to stay healthy.
 
Dr. Eliza Abioye adds to this list of advantages for teaching critical thinking with a reminder of what happens when we do not teach critical thinking in the classroom.
 
“Critical thinking minimizes the chances of children being brainwashed by what they are told, what they see on TV or even what they read. They can be able to differentiate the truth from hearsay. Through this, children can explore their mind at a deeper level and develop the courage to think for themselves.” 
 
How can we best apply critical thinking when teaching reading?
 
We need critical thinking in school.  There are advantages for students—in the classroom and beyond.  So, how can we apply this concept of critical thinking when teaching reading?
 
First, improve comprehension skills.  My next blog post will talk specifically about how to improve comprehension skills, but, for now, I’ll only emphasize that you cannot have critical thinking if you do not have comprehension or understanding of what you are reading.
 
Encourage children to ask questions.  Children should always be encouraged to ask questions about things they do not understand.  Yes, answering questions can enable students to demonstrate what they have learned.  A test may also show simply how well a student is at taking tests.  In reading, we must do more than simply tack on a list of multiple-choice questions at the end of the story.  Use open ended questions, discussion questions, free writing responses, and other ways to generate thought with your students.
 
Analyze stories or nonfiction passages.  Allow students to compare and contrast stories, characters, or even themes.  When students are reading a story where the hero has to solve a problem, have students stop midway through the story and write how they would solve the problem.  Incorporate research with nonfiction topics.  The idea is that you want students to do more than just read and answer a list of questions.  You want students to work with the reading material.
 
Be creative and use hands-on learning techniques to apply what the student is learning.  I have said before and I will say again the best teaching methods are hands-on.  So, develop some hands-on projects that connect with what your students are reading.  Make a book.  Build a project.  Find a way to help students get involved with what they are reading, regardless whether it be fiction or nonfiction.
 
Comprehension and critical thinking are intertwined.  You cannot teach comprehension without teaching critical thinking.  Critical thinking is essential for effective reading.  How are you teaching critical thinking in your classroom?

For example, the students at my Reading Orienteering Club become excited when we make a Saturn V rocket.  They enter the room and immediately glue 2 two-liter pop bottles together.  While the glue is drying, the students go to eight workstations where they do Read and Spell activities to search for 100 new words that the students cannot read or spell. Each student then uses 4 steps to learn the words “captured.” We capture a word in order to learn the word. No, we do not simply point to a word and tell the student what the word is. Instead, we break the word down into syllables, pronounce each letter sound or sound cluster, and then put the syllables back together and pronounce the word.  Next, we go to the dictionary and look up a definition for the word.  Then, the student uses the word correctly in a sentence.  Finally, the student sits down with manuscript paper and writes the word correctly using manuscript style printing.  Therefore, the student has learned how to read, pronounce, spell, write, and give a definition for 100 new words. No, we do not do all 100 words at one time.  Instead, we learn 5 words at a time. Then, go and glue those five words onto the rocket. After that, we go to the next workstation and learn five more words.  We continue until the rocket contains 100 new words and is ready to be launched. ​
​
The rocket project uses a hands-on teaching approach. The hands-on project combines learning (teaching the short ă vowel sound) and counseling (rebuilding self-efficacy, creating a motivational environment where students tackle challenging learning tasks, and helping students develop completion skills).  The excitement of completing the rocket encourages even reluctant students to push a little harder to finish a challenging task.  Everyone, naturally, wants to see their rocket soar through the air. 
 
One young student was sent to my Reading Orienteering Club after-school program because he was failing in reading.  He never did his homework, scribbled all over his worksheets in class, and rarely finished his in-class assignments— instead, he put his head down and slept.  He repeatedly caused other inappropriate behaviors in the classroom.  The list was long.  Yet, he said to me, “Can't I finish?  My dad's not here yet.  I know I can finish.  Please.”  The student was pleading for extra time to finish his rocket, to finish capturing 10 more words.  I never offer shortcuts. He had to complete all four steps for all 10 words that he captured. He knew this, and he was still motivated to do the work. See what a difference changing the teaching method can make?

What makes this project intrinsic rather than extrinsic?
 
First, making a rocket is not a reward.  Every single student makes a rocket, even if they’ve misbehaved in class.  Making a rocket is the assignment, not the reward.  The students do not need to earn points or complete any other assignments in order to be able to make a rocket. They simply walk in and begin making a rocket. The rocket is the teaching tool being used to teach students new words. 

How can I increase intrinsic motivation in my classroom?

• Build a motivational learning environment in your classroom.  Design classroom assignments to incorporate topics that students are interested in.  This does not need to change the requirements of an assignment.  Offer choices, as with the 3rd grade class example above. Remember, you cannot motivate a student, but you can help them motivate themselves.
• Make sure your classroom assignments are positive, absolutely no competitions.  Competition and conflict destroy intrinsic motivation.

Help students rebuild self-efficacy.  Self-efficacy is not the same as self-esteem.  Self-esteem means I feel good about what I'm doing.  I can feel good about getting in trouble. A student getting in trouble for misbehavior may in fact have a very high positive self -esteem.  Some students delight in causing trouble in the classroom.  Self-efficacy, on the other hand, is having the confidence to know that you can work a math problem, read out loud when requested, or knowing that you can write a paragraph when asked to in class.  Self-efficacy requires skill building.  Students who lack skills will not be intrinsically motivated, even if you offer choices or have a positive classroom atmosphere.  

Reduce negativity in the classroom. Control teasing, bullying, and making fun of other students in any form or fashion.  Intrinsic motivation is not possible in a negative classroom.

Design intrinsic motivational strategies that help students change poor behavior or poor academic results.  Use a method that will help students learn to read rather than one that has failed, such as the rocket building activity described above. 

Teach critical thinking.  Critical thinking enables children to analyze why something worked or why it did not.  By analyzing the success or failure of their actions, students will develop a more positive approach to learning. 

Remove memorization from the classroom. Memorization becomes boring; boredom keeps students from learning.  It is also not an effective teaching method.

Be creative. Do not use worksheets.

Whenever possible, allow choices.  Allow your students to choose writing topics or books to read.  As mentioned earlier, you may provide a selection of topics to choose from or you may supply a collection of books to choose from.  Choosing from a designated group still allows children to have a sense of control and choice.

Incorporate hands-on learning projects whenever possible.  Do not just sit down and learn a list of spelling words.  Turn a list of spelling words into a hands-on project—a rocket or a puppet. 

How can I increase intrinsic motivation with online instruction?
Each of these 10 ideas mentioned above can be transferred to online instruction.  Yes, they really can.  The difference is that you are creating a special kind of environment when you teach online.  You are not in the same room with the student; therefore, you must build a connection between you and the student.  You must create a positive learning atmosphere online.  I'll devote a later blog to talking about how to create intrinsically motivating learning environments online.  It is possible, but it is different than working in a classroom.