National Expert: Raising Reading Test Scores Starts
Where Language Begins – In the Crib
PHOENIX (January 11, 2012) – Parents, principals and policymakers hoping to increase student achievement in reading need to look to the crib, not the classroom, a national expert said Wednesday.
“Research demonstrates that knowledge and attention when kids start kindergarten are reliable predictors of 4th grade reading ability,” said Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a prominent researcher who runs the Infant Language Laboratory at Temple University. “If you really want to get kids up to snuff, you have to focus on language development, and you have to start much earlier.”
Hirsh-Pasek – who was in town as part of the Issues in Public Policy series sponsored by First Things First – said the past 15 years have yielded great scientific insight into the brain function of infants and toddlers, and that much more is going on in the minds of young kids than we can see.
“Babies are not empty vessels; babies are explorers and discoverers, looking for patterns in everything they hear,” Hirsh-Pasek said. “They are statisticians, computing what they hear and turning it in to sophisticated language.”
In order to help young children develop crucial language skills before they enter school, we need to focus on six basic principles, Hirsh-Pasek said. They include:
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Children learn what they hear most – frequency matters.
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Children learn words for things and events that interest them.
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Interactive and responsive environments build language learning.
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Children learn best in meaningful contexts.
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Children need to hear diverse examples of words and language structures.
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Vocabulary and grammar develop together.
What those principles boil down to is that children need to be talked to often, in meaningful ways and by adults in their lives. This information is critical for families living in poverty and families where parents don’t speak English, Hirsh-Pasek said, because their children are much less likely to hear frequent, diverse language. As a result, the children arrive at kindergarten already behind in language development.
She offered ways that policymakers and educators can use this information to raise student achievement, including: starting language and literacy development efforts much earlier (4 years old is too late); having a curriculum that covers all areas of development and includes the classroom, home and community; mandating professional development for teachers working with the youngest kids; and, ensuring that efforts to educate children from birth through grade school are aligned.
Because 80% of a young child’s time is spent outside a formal learning setting, it is critical that communities use the six principles, too, focusing on places where kids go with their families, like parks and grocery stories, Hirsh-Pasek said.
“We need to make sure everybody gets it, and that they are using this in ways that make sense for young kids in their community,” she said. “The more we can rally communities to work together on behalf of young children, and the younger we start, the better off we’ll be.”
Rhian Evans Allvin, CEO of First Things First, said Hirsh-Pasek’s comments come at a crucial time, as policymakers begin a new legislative session. With 1 in 4 Arizona third graders failing state standardized reading tests, it’s time to look beyond traditional approaches to help fix the problem, she said.
“At First Things First, we incorporate this research into efforts to build the confidence of parents in their role as their child’s first teacher and work to improve the quality of child care settings—especially the frequency and substance of interactions between teachers and children, “Allvin said. “But more is needed.”
“There will be a lot of discussion in the coming months about our state’s priorities, our expectations of students and how to expend resources to help kids meet those expectations,” she said. “Dr. Hirsh-Pasek has provided us with scientific information that demonstrates if we want our kids reading well by the end of third grade, we have to look at what happens before they enter school, as well as what happens once they get there.”
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About First Things First – First Things First is a voter-created, statewide organization that funds early education and health programs to help kids be successful once they enter kindergarten. Decisions about how those funds are spent are made by local councils staffed by community volunteers. To learn more, visit azftf.gov.