William Tunmer and Jane Prochnow of Massey University in New Zealand will summarize arguments and evidence showing that New Zealand’s national literacy strategy has failed and the role of the Reading Recovery program in that failure.
Tunmer and Prochnow will present “Has Reading Recovery Worked? A Case Study of New Zealand’s National Literacy Strategy” from 3 to 5 p.m. on November 19 in the Dean’s Conference Room (SZB 238). To RSVP and receive presentation materials, send an e-mail with “Reading Recovery” in the subject line to rsvp@meadowscenter.org.
Tunmer and Prochnow will discuss data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Studies (2001, 2006, 2011) that indicate that no progress has been made in reducing New Zealand’s relatively large inequities in literacy achievement outcomes. According to the scholars, an examination of annual monitoring reports of Reading Recovery data over the past decade reveals that the nationally implemented program has been of marginal benefit in general and of virtually no benefit to struggling readers most at risk of failing to learn to read. Tunmer and Prochnow also will briefly consider factors contributing to the failure of New Zealand’s national literacy strategy and what can be done to overcome the problem.