America’s long-standing literacy crisis is only getting worse. Two-thirds of all children in the US either can’t read or read well, and are discouraged from reading as a result. In the world’s richest country, only 79% of adults in the US are literate enough to paraphrase a text or make low-level inferences about it.
34% of fourth graders and 27% of eighth graders are illiterate or semi-literate. An additional 31% of fourth graders and 39% of eighth graders are not proficient readers. Poor students suffer most, with 80% of low-income fourth graders below grade level in reading, compared to 49% of high-income students.
The capitalist media paints the literacy crisis as a problem of curriculum, focusing on individual decisions about how to teach reading made by local school administrators and teachers. But demonizing teachers and telling them to do better won’t solve the problem. The literacy crisis is a symptom of larger problems in the capitalist education system.
The literacy crisis is a symptom of larger problems in the capitalist education system. / Image: RCA
Education is a for-profit industry
In 2001, the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act introduced the “Reading First” program. Its stated aim was to give more money to poor schools if they taught “phonics,” a scientific method for learning to read. Instead of solving the literacy problem, it was a boondoggle for profit-hungry educational publishers to sell their often dubious products to schools.
Schools spend millions on curriculum materials and programs. Once purchased, they are costly to replace—regardless of whether or not they help students learn. New York City spent $21 million on a “literacy” curriculum that doesn’t actually teach children how to read. Almost 50% of New York City public elementary schools use the program, developed by Columbia’s Teachers College, which teaches students to guess words by looking at pictures instead of sounding them out. Despite its ineffectiveness, the program appeals to teachers because “reading materials” are supplied along with the curriculum. This is especially the case in underfunded schools where teachers are forced to pay out of pocket for basic classroom supplies—including books.
This is the heart of the crisis: education in America is a money-making enterprise, from the purchase of curricula from big publishing companies to for-profit charter schools.
Schools spend millions on curriculum materials and programs. Once purchased, they are costly to replace—regardless of whether or not they help students learn. / Image: RCA
Teaching to the test
Overcrowded classrooms force many teachers to manage behaviors instead of teaching. They are unable to focus on students’ individual needs while dealing with classrooms of 20, 30, or more. Without sufficient staff and funds, teachers are expected to sacrifice their personal time preparing lessons to match each student’s needs—working for free off the clock to subsidize the education system.
School funding and teacher evaluations are tied to students’ performance on standardized tests. The relentless focus on test scores forces teachers to “teach to the test.” The focus is on how to pass standardized tests, instead of general reading and writing skills. Exams start in third grade, but they affect students as early as kindergarten. Kindergarten classes now look more like first-grade classrooms, with rigid structures and no time to learn through play, especially in poorer schools.
America’s education crisis has been simmering for decades. If literacy were a priority, the ruling class would have solved it long ago. / Image: RCA
Kick capitalism out of education
America’s education crisis has been simmering for decades. If literacy were a priority, the ruling class would have solved it long ago. But under capitalism, most children receive only the minimum education needed to turn them into productive wage laborers. The class enemy is much more interested in funneling public money into the pockets of educational publishers than in preparing working-class children to participate in and enjoy literary culture.
Education must be liberated from the profit motive. Classrooms need to be smaller and staffed with enough teachers to give all students the customized attention they need and deserve. Teachers’ hours need to be reduced and their pay increased—and teachers should be paid for all their work, whether inside or outside the classroom. Teaching and classroom materials need to be free for everyone, including books and supplies.
Standardized testing and homework should be abolished—to stop the teaching for tests and to start teaching to learn. Education on every level, including higher education, should be free for everyone. Scientific discoveries should be implemented, and teachers should be trained in the best pedagogical methods during working hours. Any child can learn to read, but under capitalism not every child will. Only by ridding ourselves of capitalism can we solve the literacy crisis plaguing America today.