10/26/04 — The overall health of the nation’s fourth-grade reading instruction is good, a new study by the ETS Policy Information Center finds.
But it also says many minority students do not share equally in educational resources, high-quality teachers, and smaller classes.
The Fourth-Grade Reading Classroom examines data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to draw a portrait of what reading instruction looks like in U.S. classrooms, how that instruction is different for students of various groups, and the characteristics of the teachers who deliver that instruction.
“First and foremost, there is much good news,” writes co-author Richard Coley. “In most U.S. fourth-grade reading classrooms, the teachers appear to meet typical state teacher certification requirements.” Nearly all hold a bachelor’s degree and many hold graduate degrees. More than half have over 10 years of experience.
“There is also bad news,” Coley continues. The educational resources are not shared equally among all students. Black fourth graders, for example, are more likely than white and Asian students to attend schools with high teacher turnover.
And Hispanic fourth-graders are more likely than blacks and whites to be in larger classes.
Following are some of the key findings in the report:
• Most fourth-grade teachers reported that they received all or most of the resources needed to teach their classes.
• More than half of fourth-graders receive between 45 and 90 minutes of daily reading instruction.
• Seventy percent of teachers use integrated reading and writing as a central part of their instruction.
• Fourth-graders are more likely to have teachers who focus instruction on reading to gain information than on reading to perform a task.
• To assess students, teachers are most likely to have students write paragraphs about what they had read, give short-answer tests, and give oral reading assignments.
However, the report also says the following findings are cause for concern:
• White students are more likely than Hispanic and Asian students to have teachers with 25 years or more experience.
• Black students are more likely than white students to be grouped by ability.
• Hispanic students are more likely than white and black students to be in large classes.
• Title I students are less likely to have teachers who feel well prepared in classroom management and organization.
• Students in central city schools are less likely than other students to attend schools where no teachers left during the year.