Oklahoma's K-12 Reading Levels are not "OK"
Posted on October 26, 2011 by Chris L. Verschage | Filed under Publications
Reading -- A Basic Foundation
for a Successful Life
The ability
to read is a basic foundation for any student to not only be
successful
in school, but also to be successful in life. However, the
reading scores for
students in Oklahoma, and many other southern states, are not where
they
should be. According to the "2009-2010 Assets and Opportunity
Scorecard," only
26.1% of Oklahoma students at the 8th grade "perform at or above
proficient in
reading." This means that 73.9% of Oklahoma's 8th grade
students are reading
below proficiency. In 2004, I wrote an article, called "Analyzing
the U.s. Illiteracy
War: It's Present Status &
Significance for the College Classroom," and in
comparison to some recent studies, it does not seem like the
situation is
improving; if anything, it may be actually getting worse. The
following are some links to some websites with some current
statistics:
1.
"Study: State fourth-graders read below peers' level" (Tulse
World, 1 June 2010).
2.
"Reading
Proficiency -- 8th grade" (CFed)
3.
"Reading Report Card" (The Nation's Report Card)
4. "Oklahoma
Home -- Every Child Matters Education Fund" (Every Child
Matters)
5.
"Oklahoma, Not OK" (20 Sept. 2009) [Hysterial Raisins]
6. "So why
should Oklahomans be concerned with literacy rates?" (The Great
Oklahoma Library Assoc.
Literacy Initiative)
Change Needed to Help our
Children.
There's no reason why any student in
America should not be successfully taught to read by the end of the
second grade. And for 73.9% of Oklahoma students in 8th grade to
be reading below proficiency is simply ridiculous.
Read my article on the
American Illiteracy War»
Clear, Concise, Error-Free Prose: The Ticket to Your "Dream" Career?
Posted on June 21, 2011 by Chris L. Verschage | Filed under Publications
Writing -- The Key to Your Future?
Like many students, you may be surprised, and even shocked, to learn
that your ability to write clear, concise, error-free prose will be a major
consideration on whether-or-nor you finally get that future "dream job."
The American eceonomy has been shifting from one based on
"agriculture and industry" to "service-and-knowledge-based economy."
(Writing: A Powerful Message 10), and as a result, writing has
becomes a "Threshold skill" that many employers are now closely
examining when it comes to considering you as an applicant for many
of their current and future salaried positions.
Writing in Private Business.
According to the April 2004
congressional report by the National Commission on Writing, entitled
Writing: A Ticket to Work...or a Ticket Out: A Survey of Business
Leaders, the future "individual opportunity in the United States [will
depend] critically on the ability to present one's thoughts
coherently, cogently, and
Read more »
Nine Strategies for Battling the Writer's Most Intimidating Horror.
Posted on June 21, 2011 by Chris L. Verschage | Filed under Publications
“Writing is easy. All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet
of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead” -- Gene Fowler.
The Most Intimidating Horror.
This past Sunday night, my family and I went and saw the movie Green Lantern. I used to love reading
Green Lantern comic books when I was a kid. I used
to wish I had a ring like his that I could place into a lantern and say the same oath: "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil's might,beware my power.. Green Lantern's light!" Then I would pretend to fly around, fighting any evil, any criminal or any bad thing, as long as I had my ring.
Today, as I sit at my keyboard, I'm faced with another threatening "monster," and, I wish at this moment, I really did have that ring. This "monster" is the most intimidating horror that any writer can face. Like Read more »
