Turning the page

Introduction

A child who struggles with reading is unlikely to be able to fully access the curriculum or develop the communication skills necessary to succeed academically. Numerous research papers from across the globe have found that a child who cannot read fluently will also have difficulty fully developing their logical thinking skills, imagination, vocabulary and concentration.

Most teachers in international schools would agree. Most, regardless of subject, would also be aware of the efforts made by school leaders over the past decade to develop whole school reading strategies as exams have become more text-dependent and of the growing difficulty of inducing children to read when so many digital distractions compete for their attention.

Yet if the importance of reading and strategies to implement literacy are widely accepted and understood, other questions remain. First there is the scale of the problem: how many students do teachers estimate struggle with reading, how many are taken out of class for catch-up lessons, and how much curriculum time is lost as a result?

Then there is the question of teaching reading: do teachers feel they are personally responsible for helping weak readers improve? If they do, how confident do they feel doing so, and would they find it useful if struggling readers in their classes were identified? Is there a difference in attitudes between primary and secondary school teachers when it comes to teaching reading, and do the latter feel it’s their responsibility too?

To discover the answer to these questions, we asked primary and secondary teachers in international schools their views. Separately, we also commissioned a survey of similar size in the UK. The findings from both polls were revealing.

Summary

• Teachers across both primary and secondary phases say a third of their students are weak readers, with a fifth regularly taken out of class to improve their reading
• They estimate that two hours of curriculum time per week is lost through reading support
• Almost all teachers – 93% – believe they have a personal responsibility to help weak readers improve
• But 8 in 10 have been at a loss from time to time as to how to help them, and believe it would be valuable to know which students in their class are struggling readers
• There is no significant difference in attitudes between primary and secondary teachers, or for the most part between teachers in international schools and those in the UK
• The main divergence is in reading policies – international schools appear to be much less prescriptive than UK schools
• Teachers are pragmatic – three-quarters think it’s fine for students to read/listen digitally.

Elsewhere in this report, we look at how one school, Alice Smith Primary School in Malaysia, is taking assessment data from the New Group Reading Test (NGRT) and Star Assessments, and using tools such as Accelerated Reader and myON, to create personalised learning journeys for its children.

Main findings

Weak readers

Teachers in international schools believe a third of all children they teach are weak readers, that less than a fifth are taken out of class for reading support and that, on average, two hours a day of curriculum time per week is lost helping students read:

• Respondents say a third (34%) of the pupils they teach are weak readers – there is no significant difference between primary/secondary
• Teachers think on average that over a third of their students (37%) need additional reading support to keep up with the content they teach, and a similar proportion (32%) need additional support outside of the classroom
• Teachers say on average less than a fifth (17%) of students in international schools are taken out of their classes each week for 30 mins or more to receive additional reading support (a smaller percentage than in the UK, where teachers estimate the proportion is 26%)
• Teachers in international schools estimate two hours of curriculum time each week is lost helping students to read.

Teaching reading

Teachers overwhelmingly feel that they have a personal responsibility to help weak readers improve, and while most think they have the necessary skills to do this, large numbers have also felt unsure about how to do it from time to time and believe clear identification of weak readers would help:

• Over 9 in10 of teachers in international schools (93%) feel personally responsible that they should help weak readers improve. Very few (5%) didn’t. There was little difference in the response of primary and secondary teachers (96% vs 89%)
• Most (59%) feel well equipped to address the needs of pupils with differing reading skills – though a significant minority (28%) don’t
• However, most have felt at a loss about how to help a struggling reader – 83% sometimes and of those 11% often. Only 17% always feel confident
• And while just under half of teachers (45%) don’t mind time losing curriculum time (in and out of the classroom) for reading support, a third (34%) feel they have to adjust their teaching around it, and over one in ten (13%, rising to 17% in secondary schools) find it frustrating as it puts pressure on them getting through the curriculum
• Almost all respondents (96%) say it would be valuable or very valuable to know which students in their class have been identified as struggling readers.

Reading policies

While almost three-quarters of schools in the UK have an agreed policy on daily reading, the picture in international schools is markedly different, with almost equal numbers saying they do and don’t. Only a minority of international schools encourage teachers to share their reading habits with students, which again is unlike the UK, where a majority of schools (60%) do. And whereas most teachers in the UK feel sufficient time is given to the development of reading skills across the curriculum, most teachers in international schools disagree.

• Less than half of teachers in international schools (46%) say their school has an agreed policy on daily reading time for all students and similar numbers (45%) say they don’t, rising to 53% of those in secondary schools
• Just over a third (36%) say their school encourages them to share the books they read in private publicly with students, with over a half (52%) saying they don’t
• That said, teachers in international schools are more relaxed about sharing their reading choices with their students than their colleagues in the UK (77% vs 42%) – and only 23% are always or occasionally reluctant to share
• The reasons given for reluctance to share: it’s part of my private life (44%), my choices are a bit low-brow (18%), my choices are controversial (39%)
• Over four-fifths of secondary teachers in international schools (84%) think it’s their school’s responsibility to teach phonics – a far higher percentage than in the UK (66%)
• Less than a third of teachers (32%) feel sufficient time is given to the development of reading skills across the curriculum in international schools – three-fifths (59%) don’t, a complete contrast to attitudes in the UK, where 59% say they do
• Less than half (45%) also think their school provides sufficient time to help children understand the value of nonfiction texts – an almost equal proportion (41%) say they do not.

Students’ reading habits

Teachers in international schools agree with their colleagues in the UK and think it is perfectly acceptable for students to read or listen to books on digital devices. They also agree that parents have a tough time convincing their children to read:

• Almost three-quarters (72%) feel it is acceptable for students to use audio or ebooks to read – less than a fifth (16%) don’t
• Four-fifths (79%) think parents find it difficult to encourage children to read at home
• Four-fifths of teachers (83%) blame digital distractions, over two-thirds (68%) say it’s because parents don’t read themselves and a similar proportion (69%) say it’s because parents are too busy, just under half (46%) say that parents want to avoid an argument, two-fifths (41%) say sports/hobbies take up their children’s spare time, and only a fifth (21%) say parents don’t see the benefits of reading.

Conclusions

There seems little doubt that weak reading ability is a widespread problem. Primary and secondary teachers in international schools estimate that a third of their students are weak readers and struggle to keep up with the content – a similar proportion to those in UK schools. Consequently, two hours of curriculum time per week is lost in helping weak readers improve.

Most teachers are keenly aware how important it is that reading is supported across the curriculum and of their personal responsibility to improve it – even though they don’t always feel confident in doing so. This is where the New Group Reading Test (NGRT), Star Reading and myON can help – NGRT and Star because they are consistent and reliable assessments that can be used to evaluate the reading skills of children from Reception through transition to secondary school and beyond; and myON because it provides the structured, teacher-directed daily practice that students need if they are to become fluent readers.

The main area where international schools differ from UK schools is in their approach to reading policies, which appear to be much less prescriptive. On the other hand, like their counterparts in the UK, teachers in international schools are under no illusion about how difficult it is for most parents to get their children to read at home.