Secondary Students Are Struggling With Reading, Too. A Look at the Landscape – Education Week

Report on Adolescent Literacy Deficits: A Barrier to Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education)

This report analyzes findings from a survey of approximately 700 secondary education professionals regarding adolescent reading proficiency. The data reveals significant challenges that directly impede progress toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Widespread Literacy Challenges Jeopardize SDG Target 4.1

The survey indicates a critical failure in achieving effective learning outcomes for a large portion of secondary students, a core component of SDG Target 4.1 (ensure all youth complete quality secondary education). The scale of the problem is substantial.

• 58% of surveyed educators report that a quarter or more of their middle and high school students struggle with basic reading skills.
• Existing policy interventions are misaligned with this challenge, as the majority of state-level reading laws focus on primary grades (K-5), failing to address the advanced literacy demands of secondary education.
• This gap undermines the goal of providing an equitable and effective education, as students unable to access complex texts are denied full participation in the curriculum.

Identified Causes and Their Impact on Lifelong Learning (SDG Target 4.6)

Educators identified several root causes for these literacy gaps, which present significant obstacles to achieving SDG Target 4.6 (ensure all youth achieve literacy). The primary factors cited threaten the development of skills necessary for lifelong learning and future employment.

1. Lack of Motivation: Selected by over 25% of respondents, this issue reflects a broader societal decline in reading volume, which is directly correlated with reading ability.
2. Limited Fluency: Cited by approximately 20% of educators, this is often symptomatic of deeper issues with foundational skills, such as decoding complex, multisyllabic words essential for specialized academic subjects.

Teacher Training Deficiencies as a Systemic Barrier to SDG Target 4.c

The lack of adequately prepared educators is a systemic failure that contravenes SDG Target 4.c (substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers). The survey data highlights a severe deficit in professional development for supporting struggling adolescent readers.

• Only 38% of educators stated they had received any training on how to support this student population.
• An equal proportion, 38%, reported receiving no training whatsoever.
• A mere 20% of educators reported receiving relevant preparation during their preservice teacher-training programs.

Declining Institutional Support and Its Contribution to Educational Inequality (SDG 10)

The allocation of resources for reading intervention diminishes significantly after elementary school, creating systemic inequality that conflicts with the principles of SDG 4 and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). This reduction in support disproportionately affects students who require it most.

• Just over half of educators reported that their school or district provides extra intervention time and staff for struggling secondary readers.
• Support is even weaker at the high school level, where only one-third of teachers reported access to dedicated intervention time or the use of screening assessments to pinpoint specific reading challenges.
• This tapering of support structures ensures that initial learning gaps widen over time, perpetuating educational and, consequently, economic inequality.

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The primary Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) addressed in the article is:

• SDG 4: Quality Education – The article’s central theme is the challenge of adolescent literacy, the quality of reading instruction for middle and high school students, the lack of teacher training, and the inadequacy of support systems. These issues are all core components of ensuring inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s focus on literacy, learning outcomes, and teacher qualifications, the following specific targets under SDG 4 can be identified:

1. Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
   • Explanation: The article directly addresses the failure to achieve “effective learning outcomes.” It highlights that many middle and high school students are “three or four grade levels behind” in reading, indicating they are progressing through secondary education without acquiring foundational skills.
2. Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
   • Explanation: This target is explicitly relevant as the article’s main subject is the struggle of youth (adolescents in middle and high school) to achieve basic literacy. The finding that a significant percentage of these students “had difficulty with basic reading skills” shows a clear gap in achieving this target.
3. Target 4.c: By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.
   • Explanation: The article emphasizes a critical shortage of teachers who are qualified to support older struggling readers. It points out that “Teachers receive minimal training on helping older readers catch up,” which directly relates to the need to increase the supply of teachers with specific, necessary qualifications and training.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article mentions and implies several quantitative indicators that can be used to measure progress:

1. Proportion of students struggling with basic reading skills.
   • Reference from article: “Fifty-eight percent—more than half of the educators—said a quarter or more of their middle and high school students had difficulty with basic reading skills.” This survey result serves as a direct indicator of the literacy challenge among secondary students, relevant to Targets 4.1 and 4.6.
2. Proportion of teachers who have received relevant training.
   • Reference from article: The article provides two clear data points: “Only 38% of the educators in our survey… said they’d received any training on reaching this population of vulnerable students,” and “just 1 in 5 educators reported getting any preparation for this specific skill in their teacher-preparation programs.” These percentages are direct indicators for measuring progress on Target 4.c.
3. Availability of school-level intervention support.
   • Reference from article: The article implies this is a key metric by reporting that “A little more than half of educators said their district or school provided extra intervention time and staff” and that “only a third of high school teachers in the sample said that they were provided dedicated time for intervention.” This measures the institutional support available to achieve quality educational outcomes.
4. Student performance on state reading tests.
   • Reference from article: The text mentions that “state test scores” are one of the few publicly available sources of information on reading performance for older students. Although their diagnostic value is questioned in the article, they are identified as an existing, albeit limited, indicator.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: edweek.org