by: William T. Fagan

The faces of literacy keep changing. Each face carries a different emphasis. We hear of adult literacy, early literacy, family literacy, and workplace literacy. The International Reading Association, the largest organization of literacy professionals and supporters in the world, is now saying that adolescent literacy has been largely ignored. Yet, the writing has been on the wall.

Literacy surveys provide food for thought. In the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), participants were grouped into five levels, according to their competency in literary tasks. Actually, Levels 4 and 5 were grouped together. This level requires readers to be able to search for information in complex text, or in complex displays of information. They should be able to make high level inferences, or use specialized knowledge. The survey shows that only 16 percent of people in Atlantic Canada scored at this level. That means that 84 percent have not reached the highest level of literacy functioning. There was no breakdown by province in Atlantic Canada available, but in all other surveys, Newfoundland and Labrador score lower than their Atlantic Canada neighbours, so it is safe to say the number of people in this province who score at the highest level is less than 16 percent. The same survey reports that 20 percent of high school graduates in the US cannot read their own diplomas. It further reveals that in Canada, 25 percent of our students graduate high school with low literacy skills. This does not include those who drop out and don't graduate.

Carol Santa, president of the International Reading Association, is blunt in her remarks on our lack of emphasis on adolescent literacy. She says that adolescents are being shortchanged. She believes one reason for this is that educators do not see literacy on a continuum. They forget that children in the lower grades who have difficulties in reading become adults. A former president of the International Reading Association, Richard Vacca, states that in the 1960's we were quick to write off low-achieving students. However, he adds that in those days, these students were easily absorbed into the workforce. This was particularly so with the fishing industry in this province. But now, with technology, and all the accompanying manuals and required reading, this is not possible anymore. Surveys like the IALS, show that more people spend more time reading and writing in the workplace then they do anywhere else.

The International Reading Association has issued a position statement with respect to adolescent literacy. Some of the principles within this statement are:

• Adolescents deserve instruction that builds both the skill and the desire to read increasingly complex materials.
• Adolescents deserve assessment that shows their strengths as well as their needs, and that guides their teachers to design instruction that will best help them grow as teachers
• Adolescents deserve expert teachers who model and provide explicit instruction in reading comprehension and study strategies across the curriculum.
• Adolescents deserve reading specialists who assist individual students having difficulty learning to read.
• Adolescents deserve teachers who understand the complexities of individual adolescent readers, respect their differences, and respond to their characteristics.

The Atlantic Canada Provincial Curriculum Foundation has instituted a course in reading at the Grade 10 level for those students who experience difficulties with reading. This is a positive step. However, there has been little or no professional development support in this province for those teachers who are assigned to teach this course. It's chances for success must be weighed against the principles listed above.

Adolescent literacy cannot be forgotten among the other faces of literacy. In Reading Today (a publication of the International Reading Association), a caption under a picture of a youth walking away with a knapsack on his back, reads; "The future of today's adolescents may depend on how educators address their special literacy needs." Can we afford to deny them the chance for a successful future?