Why start an independent reading program? An ability to read complex material is critical to success in both college and the workplace. Kathleen Cox and John Guthrie (2001), writing in Contemporary Educational Psychology, found that the amount of reading students do is a major contributor to their reading achievement. Research by Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeriti USC, has shown that independent reading-that is, voluntary reading for pleasure-improves: reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling ability, grammar usage and writing style. A long-term routine of independent reading is good preparation for exams such as the SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT and LSAT exams. Literacy experts agree about the benefits of frequent reading to academic achievement. Yet, statistics abound demonstrating that America’s youth are not taking advantage of this well-lit path to academic success. The National Education Association (2001) found that only half of American high school students read more than ten books per year. According to recent National Assessment of Educational Progress reports, more than a third of 4th-graders, a quarter of 8th-graders, and a quarter of 12th-graders could not read at the basic level. Kati Hancock and Sandra Huang, in a study published in Thinking K-16 (2001), found that only 1 in 17 seventeen-year olds could understand articles typically found in the science section of local newspapers!
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