Youth literacy rates are the lowest they’ve been in decades, according to a recent National Public Radio (NPR) report. And while the stats are concerning around the nation, the data closest to home remains particularly frightening.
Non-profit literacy advocacy, resource and partnership organization San Diego Council on Literacy revealed that 46% of third graders throughout the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) are not currently meeting reading and writing standards. They further detailed that countywide, nearly 70% of White students in grades 3-8 and 11 meet their ages’ language standards, compared to 40% of Black students and 44% of Latinx students.
These reading and writing merits are upheld by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) — to which 45 school districts, including the SDUSD, voluntarily subscribe. The CCSS provide teachers, parents and students with clear educational expectations that are aligned with the caliber of higher education institutions and professional organizations, according to the SDUSD website. The site further contends that under the CCSS, “students gain knowledge systematically through reading, writing, speaking and listening.”
Additionally, the CCSS website claims to promote equity and ensures that “all students, no matter where they live, are well prepared with the skills and knowledge necessary to collaborate and compete with their peers in the United States and abroad.”
Based on the above-mentioned statements from the CCSS curriculum, it begs the question, why then are nearly half of our youth and marginalized students failing to meet their grade’s literacy standards?
The gut reaction has historically placed the blame on the heads’ of teachers. As part of a bureaucracy, however, teachers neither control the curriculum nor testing. They simply do their best with the materials and resources they’re provided.
Youth literacy is a large topic and contains numerous moving parts and consequences. To better understand the issue let’s break down just two of the many components that make up the educational system (as a whole) that have contributed to the declining reading and writing scores: systemic racism and funding.
Dealing with systemic racism
Systemic racism — which ensures that the road to success for marginalized communities is difficult and frequently impossible to reach — is not a new infiltration into education.
The Center for American Progress, a public policy research and advocacy organization, explains that the CCSS “hold promise for low-income students, students of color, English language learners and students with disabilities, who traditionally perform significantly worse than their peers. The Common Core helps address inequality in education by ensuring all students are taught at the same high standards and held to the same rigorous expectations.”
Despite this insurance, kids are still left behind. Nearly half of them, in fact.
Not only are many students underprepared for their present grade’s literacy levels, but they’ll likely be even further undertrained to meet college and professional merits.
Systemic racism begins at the earliest grades.
Black preschoolers, for example, are 3.6 times more likely to receive suspensions compared to their White counterparts, says a recent California Department of Education (CDE) report. Black preschoolers represent 18% of the student population but make up nearly half of the out-of-school suspensions, explains NPR.
Suspensions and expulsions mean missed opportunities for a structured learning environment. In the same report, the CDE affirms that younger suspended students are more likely to have trouble keeping up academically and feel unwelcome at school. For older students, they’re more likely to drop out altogether.
Disparities in disciplinary measures are just one illustration of systemic racism — inequitable funding, lack of diverse curricula and an underrepresentation of teachers and staff from diverse cultures are other common occurrences of this problem.
Despite recent literacy reports, the SDUSD has made steps toward combating racism.
In 2020, the district voted unanimously to change their grading systems to focus on the mastery of the material rather than a yearly average, which penalizes students struggling throughout the year. The district’s report increased and ensured enrollment in at least one ethnic course, enabled students to take AP courses not offered at their school, provided teachers with opportunities to earn micro credentials that certify the depth and quality of their work and a lengthy list of additional action plans.
Teachers and staff are a necessary cog in educational systems — for it’s difficult to leave or make imperative change without negatively impacting students. Nor are the changes’ effects seen overnight.
Budget cuts and projected deficit
Now, let’s address the green and monstrous second half of this issue.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that as of this month, the SDUSD faces drastic budget cuts and a projected deficit of $100 million. Furthermore, non-profit education equity newsroom EdSource says that the SDUSD, as well as other San Diego districts, have experienced yearly enrollment drops, which further depletes state-funding contingent with the number of attending students.
Non-profit high-education research organization Learning Policy Institute says that “improvements in the adequacy and equity of per-pupil spending are positively associated with improved student outcomes.” In short, money matters. They also maintain that additional resources for early childhood programs, instructional supports and more competitive teacher compensations cultivate stronger positive outcomes for students.
It’s not just about more money, but how the money is distributed.
By dis-serving our youth and marginalized communities, we can expect higher rates of unemployment, low self-esteem, workplace accident, the misuse of medication and a plethora of troubling issues, according to early literacy organization, the Governor’s Literacy Foundation.
No one person, including myself, has the answers.
But, by engaging with communities, spaces, programs and organizations that promote literacy and diversity, hopefully the kids have a chance.
Editor’s note: Jessica Mills is a freelance writer for San Diego Community Newspaper Group.
Photo credit: Pixabay.com
