Study Skills Blog

MOMENT OF TRUTH

Posted January 31st, 2023
MOMENT OF TRUTH


 

Proficiency scores for Reading and Math show school closures resulted in massive learning loss for U.S.A. students and growing gaps between disadvantage students and general population.

 

Results released from a test administered this year by the National Assembly of Educational Progress (NAEP), which is also known as “the Nations’ Report Card”, has revealed children across the country have severely lost ground in Reading and Math skills during the lockdowns and remote learning. The test has been given every 2 years since the 1990’s and tested more than 450 thousand 4th and 8th graders across 10 thousand schools between January and March according to the New York Times. It was the first test since the pandemic began and revealed that in nearly every state, scores for reading and math fell. In fact, nationwide only 31% of 8th graders scored ‘Proficient’ in reading, according to American News, (Oct.24th.)

 

“I want to be very clear. The results of ‘the nations’ report card’ are appalling and unacceptable”, said Miguel Cardonna, the U.S.A. Secretary of Education. “This is a MOMENT OF TRUTH for education. How we respond to this will determine not only our recovery but our nations standing in the world.” The fact that 70% of 8th graders are “Not Proficient” in Reading is a huge problem. These students will struggle in other courses due to their inability to read, begin to hate school, lose confidence and experience unjustified stress at home.   

 

I can only liken the above quotes by Secretary Cardonna to the need and urgency for training caused by the Declaration of War on December 7th, 1941 for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The government reacted quickly and developed a 25-week technical & tactical training program, offered at more than 235 colleges and universities across the country, designed to train 150 thousand elite military personnel into leadership positions to help fight and win World War II. An integral part of the training program was an accelerated learning strategy called SQ3R. Still, today, SQ3R is considered to be the most effective study skill strategy ever developed and is referred to as ‘the Father of How-to-Study programs’.

 

The gravity of the Secretary’s remarks reminds me of the same level of critical need today for a research-based, proven effective training program based on an updated and newly revised version of SQ3R called 21st Century Study Skills, or SQ4R. It is an accelerated pedagogical strategy that has proven to build a strong cognitive learning foundation that will improve reading comprehension and increase the rate of productivity. I’ve added computer note-taking skills and whole brain memory techniques to make it more effective. If you want to learn how to improve your students’ reading comprehension, please visit my website and contact me: http://www.21stcenturystudyskills.com/testimonials.html

 



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