Research needed to improve reading skills among males

On March 2, the National Education Association, or NEA, is sponsoring Read Across America Day, an annual program that takes place on or near the birthday of Dr. Seuss. It focuses on the importance of motivating children to read and helping them develop reading skills.

Many parents and educators do not realize that, on average, girls are better readers than boys.

In every age group, boys have been scoring lower than girls on U.S. Department of Education reading tests for more than 30 years.

The longer boys are in school, the wider the reading gender gap becomes. For example, the 2004 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, found the gap at age 9 is five points, at age 13 is 10 points, and at age 17 is 14 points.

According to NAEP, males who have made it through 12 years of school have significantly poorer reading skills than their female peers. Among white males of college-educated parents, 23 percent scored “below basic” in reading, compared to 7 percent of their female peers.

Among Hispanic males of college-educated parents, 34 percent scored “below basic” in reading, compared to 19 percent of their female peers.

Among black males of college-educated parents, 44 percent scored “below basic” in reading, compared to 33 percent of their female peers.

Not only does the reading gender gap span every racial and ethnic group, but it also categorically finds boys underperforming girls regardless of income, disability or English-speaking ability.

Read Across America Day underscores the importance of reading. The research is clear: Greater reading skills equate to greater success in school.

Increasingly, it also equates to greater success in the work force as blue collar jobs move to low-wage countries. If we don’t start to help boost our boys out of their reading slump, many of them will become unemployed adults.

Personally, I have experienced the frustrating feelings that accompany a lack of reading skills. I’m in Japan observing the differences between how boys and girls learn in the Japanese school system.

Not being able to read kanji has made it extremely difficult for me to order food, navigate with a map and perform countless other common activities.

I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to sit in class and try to learn new content while struggling with reading skills.

The reading gender gap is not unique to the U.S.; it occurs throughout the world. Some countries, like Australia, are creating government programs to help close the gap.

For example, their Boys’ Education Lighthouse Schools Program helps Australian schools identify, document and disseminate best practices in educating boys.

While Read Across America Day is a helpful program, much more is needed in the U.S.

A good start would be for our government to fund educational researchers to study schools that have found ways to improve boys’ reading skills without disadvantaging girls.

In the meantime, a great message to share with children to inspire them to read on Read Across America Day can be found in Dr. Seuss’ book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” wherein he writes: “And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed).”

Bill Costello
training director for Making Minds Matter