After using my reading and writing skills all of these years, I tend to take them for granted. Then, I read this report that came out early last month. I shared it on Facebook and I want to share it with visitors to my blog as well. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released its report card for 2017. Only 37% of high school graduates in the U.S. can read at a 12th grade level of proficiency. Math proficiency was much lower than that. At the same time, our graduation rate has climbed to 80%, so we are handing out more high school diplomas, but do they have any value to the graduate or to prospective employers? I suppose after handing out trophies to all sport participants, it was just a matter of time before diplomas and degrees would be awarded for showing up. No wonder those on social media have resorted to communicating with a sort of illiterate shorthand and emoji’s (u no what I meen ☺).
Imagine not being able to read and understand at a 12th grade level and therefore relying on others to tell you what is in our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, America’s recorded history or even the contents of the Holy Bible, God’s word for each of us. I’m not big on conspiracy theories, but those in positions of authority won’t have to ban or burn books if they can produce a generation that cannot read or understand them. That will make it easier for those in power to indoctrinate them.
When I graduated from high school in 1961, my reading and writing proficiency was probably at or above the level of a college graduate with a BA degree today and I was not an exceptionally bright student. Using those skills has broadened my knowledge each and every year of my life.
Reading, writing and math are still being taught in home school and parochial school classes, but we need to put pressure on public school boards across the U.S. to return to teaching those basic skills instead of political correctness and societal issues. In the meantime, churches might consider offering remedial reading classes in conjunction with Bible studies for those who need it. They might ask retired teachers in the congregation to help adults improve their reading skills in a relaxed atmosphere of love, without one bit of embarrassment, perhaps using the NLT as a text. The more that people are encouraged to read God’s word, the more likely they will find His special message for them as they read. After all, the Christian Reformation was fueled by the invention of the printing press that made the Bible available for all to read for themselves.
I quote scripture throughout my blogs, normally from the New Living Translation, but I also encourage my readers to investigate God’s word for themselves. It saddens me so much that 63% of recent high school graduates might not be able to read and fully understand what I have just written.