SKrashen:
Rating Schools: Use Library Quality
Response to LA Times editoral: Grading California's Schools, August 7 More relevant than using outcomes (test scores, graduation rates) in rating schools is an "input" factor: the quality of the library.Study after study shows that that students living in states with better school libraries do better on tests of reading achievement. California ranks near the bottom of the country in s
Listen to teachers, read the research (sent to Jewish Journal)
Sent to the Jewish Journal, August 7, 2014Ellie Herman ("To save education, listen to teachers," August 6) points out that many of those driving education policy in the US have never taught. The situation is even worse: Education policy makers are also ignorant of educational research: They are unaware that scientific studies published in professional journals provide no support for the
Access to books helps close the reading gap in kindergarten
Access to books helps close the reading gap in kindergartenStephen KrashenFryer and Levitt (2004) examined reading and math test scores in kindergarten and grade 1 from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (about 1000 schools). Their focus was the gap between black and white children.For reading, the difference between black and white children at the start of kindergarten was .40 (where 0 = me
AUG 06
Comprensible Input-Based Methods vs. Traditional Methods
Below is a list of studies comparing comprehension-based methods with traditional methods that demand the conscious learning of grammar. The list includes studies contrasting comprehension-based methods with traditional methods for beginning foreign language teaching and intermediate foreign and second language teaching, as well as studies showing the superiority of self-selected reading over tr
AUG 03
Do American Rich Kids do Worse on International Tests than Rich Kids from Other Countries?
Do American Rich Kids do Worse on International Tests than Rich Kids from Other Countries?Stephen KrashenHanushek, Peterson and Woessmann (2014) claim that when we examine students from "advantaged" families, American students do poorly in math: Our rich kids do worse than rich kids from other countries. Hanushek et. al. conclude that this shows that poverty is not the only factor aff