
According to surveys conducted by the American Management Association (AMA), 41% of employers test applicants for basic literacy and math skills and the number is increasing.
That’s a very significant figure.
That’s close to around one in two employers testing for literacy.
So here’s something to consider.
Nearly two million kids will leave school this year (and every year) unable to read even simple text, or read with difficulty. They will then apply for the jobs where the Employers use a literacy test, which will screen out most of the kids applying.
To be fair, if you were an Employer, would you employ a kid who couldn’t read? In a survey not so long ago, 80% of Employers said that they wouldn’t because of workplace safety and other issues.
Well, that’s the system that Parents are stuck with. If you have a kid who is aged 9 and older, you can’t expect the schools to help you. By that age your kid will be labelled a slow learner or something similar, which is an excuse to blame something other than either the School, the teachers or the method used for the reading failure rate.
Many Parents with kids who are falling further and further behind will finally realise that all the comments in successive Parent Teacher consults about ‘catching up’ are just not accurate. And if you’re one of them you might just think there’s nothing you can do.
But there is!
If your child is around Grade 4 or older, and is still struggling to learn to read, the questions to ask yourself are:
Has my child learned to read using just the Phonics method?
Will more Phonics help or will a combination of methods be better?
Is there any point in trying to force more Phonics on him/her if Phonics alone hasn’t worked so far?
What can I do about the situation?