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High School Literacy
Defining High School Literacy Issues | High School Literacy Strategies | Support for ELL Students | Resources for Teachers | Research on this Topic 
High school literacy is key to a high school student's overall prospects for success. Out of a student’s ability to read comes the capacity to graduate and the opportunity to gain access to the workplace and/or post-secondary education.
The tie between graduation rates and literacy rates is evident when we look at the reading skills of those students who fail to finish high school. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy reports that 19% of students that dropout are only able to perform at basic or below-basic levels when presented with prose literacy tasks like reading editorials, news stories, and instructional materials.1 The implications of illiteracy extend outside of the classroom as the student moves into the workforce. Research shows that a student’s inability to read at a functional level while in school has drastic implications for his or her life in the future.
To help educators, parents, and the general public gain awareness on this topic, the National High School Center has compiled key documents that present resources and best practices on how to effectively combat illiteracy in schools.
Defining High School Literacy Issues
2007 National High School Center Summer Institute Panel Discussion on High School Literacy
Building on a common definition for high school literacy, this panel offers a lively conversation highlighting the various elements that encompass high school literacy. Presenters provide a conceptual framework, theories of action, and latest research for this topic, while sharing best practices to assist those students who struggle in this area.
Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School Improvement
This report from the Alliance for Excellent Education contends that content teachers at the middle and secondary levels should engage their students in literacy training through integrated reading and writing activities that teach students how to recognize the particular conventions specific to the different subjects. The report concludes with practical policy goals to foster a greater integration of literacy training and content matter.
Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading
This report from ACT recommends that considerable experience with complex reading texts in high school is the key to development of college-level reading skills, and is the clearest differentiator of students who are ready for the post-secondary world of college and/or work versus those who are not. The report also defines the types of materials that need to be included in all high school courses, and offers recommendations to educators and policymakers on how to help to increase the numbers of high school graduates who are ready for college-level reading.
1 National Adult Literacy Survey, NCES, U.S. Department of Education; courtesy of the Education Statistics Quarterly (Vol. 3, Issue 4, Topic: Lifelong Learning).
