Talking teen literacy with University of Minnesota – University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Report on Declining Adolescent Literacy and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Recent federal data indicates a significant decline in reading proficiency among teenagers in the United States, a trend that poses a substantial challenge to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report analyzes the multifaceted impacts of low literacy and outlines strategic interventions to foster reading skills, aligning with the global agenda for sustainable development.

The Impact of Literacy on Sustainable Development

Barriers to SDG 4: Quality Education

Low reading comprehension skills directly undermine the objectives of SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The consequences include:

• Self-imposed limitations on educational and personal advancement, such as avoiding college applications or vocational tests.
• A reluctance to seek academic support, often misattributed to factors other than reading difficulty.
• The development of a negative self-perception regarding intelligence, which can curtail ambition and future educational pursuits.

Challenges to SDG 8 (Decent Work) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

The inability to comprehend complex texts extends beyond the classroom, creating significant barriers to economic and social inclusion.

1. Economic Disadvantage: Poor literacy skills impede access to decent work (SDG 8) by making individuals vulnerable in financial and legal matters, such as misinterpreting a rental lease, thereby perpetuating economic instability.
2. Exacerbated Inequality: This literacy gap contributes to systemic inequalities (SDG 10), as individuals may be unable to navigate essential civic processes or advocate for their rights, limiting their social and political inclusion.

Fostering Global Citizenship through Reading (SDG 4.7)

Promoting reading for pleasure is a key strategy for advancing Target 4.7, which focuses on education for sustainable development and global citizenship. Recreational reading offers numerous benefits:

• Enhanced Empathy: Literature provides insight into diverse life experiences and cultures, fostering empathy and social understanding.
• Intellectual and Emotional Development: Research confirms that reading for pleasure positively impacts academic performance, emotional well-being, and social skills.
• Shared Experience: Reading aloud, even with teenagers, can strengthen familial bonds and create a communal learning environment.

Strategic Interventions to Advance Adolescent Literacy

Strategies for Educational Institutions

To align with SDG 4, educators can implement targeted strategies to support students with difficult texts:

1. Emphasize Re-reading: Utilize re-reading as a core strategy to deepen comprehension and accelerate reading growth.
2. Promote Social Learning: Engage students in collaborative activities like group discussions and retells to uncover misconceptions and encourage peer-to-peer learning.
3. Utilize Diverse and Relevant Texts: Select texts that reflect student identities, cultures, and interests to increase engagement and demonstrate the relevance of literacy to their lives.

The Role of Families and Communities

Family and community involvement is crucial for creating a supportive ecosystem for literacy, contributing to lifelong learning goals.

• Encourage Self-Selection: Allowing teens to choose their own reading material, including comics, audiobooks, and online content, validates all forms of literacy and increases engagement.
• Model Reading Behavior: Adults who demonstrate that they value and make time for reading send a powerful message about its importance.
• Utilize Public Resources: Families are encouraged to engage with public and school libraries, which offer expert guidance and programming to support teen readers.

University of Minnesota Initiatives Supporting Literacy and the SDGs

Enhancing Educational Capacity and Access

The University of Minnesota contributes to statewide literacy through initiatives that directly support SDG 4 and SDG 10.

• Teacher Development: The College of Education and Human Development prepares pre-service teachers with culturally sustaining literacy strategies and partners with schools on youth-engaged research to promote educational justice.
• Equitable Access to Resources: The University provides free, open access to digital resources, ensuring that all Minnesotans can benefit from educational materials. Key resources include:
  1. Ebooks Minnesota: An online collection of over 10,000 titles available to all residents without a library card, promoting equitable access to information.
  2. Writing Boxes: A free, downloadable resource from the University of Minnesota Libraries that connects reading and writing through high-interest activities, supporting foundational literacy skills.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

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

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  This is the primary SDG addressed in the article. The entire discussion revolves around the declining reading scores among teenagers in the U.S., the challenges this poses, and strategies for educators and families to improve literacy and reading comprehension. The article directly tackles the quality of education by exploring methods to support students, the importance of relevant and diverse texts, and the role of institutions in providing educational resources. It focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The article connects low literacy skills to significant social and economic disadvantages, which directly relates to reducing inequalities. It highlights how teens with poor reading comprehension may be hindered from pursuing opportunities like college applications or a driver’s permit, and can be vulnerable to economic exploitation, such as being unable to understand a lease. This creates a cycle of disadvantage that limits their future potential. The emphasis on providing free and universal access to resources like “Ebooks Minnesota” is a clear strategy to reduce inequalities in educational opportunities.

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

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  1. Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

     The article directly supports this target by explaining the real-world challenges faced by teens with low reading skills. Abigail Rombalski notes they “may not attempt a driver’s permit knowledge test or a college application” and may make poor financial decisions because they cannot properly read a lease. These are all essential life skills that are crucial for future employment and economic independence.

  2. Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.

     This target is at the core of the article. The opening sentence states that “reading scores of teens in the U.S. are lower than they have been in decades,” identifying a direct challenge to youth literacy. The entire article is a response to this problem, offering solutions for educators and families to help teens improve their reading skills and achieve functional literacy.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  1. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

     The article implies that low literacy is a significant barrier to social and economic inclusion. Rombalski states that these challenges can cause teenagers to “develop a negative self-view about their own intelligence and knowledge… which limits their groundedness, their hope and their futures.” By promoting strategies and free resources to improve literacy for all, the article advocates for empowering youth to overcome these barriers and participate fully in society.

  2. Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.

     The article highlights how a lack of reading skills leads to unequal outcomes. The provision of universally accessible resources, such as “Ebooks Minnesota,” which offers “access to more than 10,000 titles for free” with “no library card or sign-in required,” is a direct action aimed at ensuring more equal opportunities for all teens, regardless of their economic status or access to a physical library.

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

• Indicators for SDG 4

  1. Reading Proficiency Levels: The most direct indicator mentioned is “reading scores of teens,” as cited from “new federal testing data.” This directly corresponds to Indicator 4.6.1 (Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional literacy). Tracking these scores over time would measure progress toward Target 4.6.
  2. Acquisition of Practical Skills: The article implies indicators for Target 4.4 through the practical tasks that become challenging for teens with low literacy. Progress could be measured by tracking rates of success in activities such as passing a “driver’s permit knowledge test” or the successful completion of “college application” forms among different student populations.

• Indicators for SDG 10

  1. Access to Educational Resources: An implied indicator for Target 10.3 is the accessibility and use of free educational materials. The article highlights “Ebooks Minnesota” and the University of Minnesota’s “Writing Boxes.” The number of users, downloads, or the reach of these free programs could serve as an indicator of efforts to provide equal opportunities and reduce the resource gap among students.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: twin-cities.umn.edu