An Examination of Reading Assignments in the Secondary Classroom
The purpose of this research study is to examine reading assignments given in the secondary classroom of a rural secondary school. The intention is to analyze student readiness to handle complex text found in post-secondary education and/or the workforce, based on current reading trends within the school. The research questions guiding this study focus on the average amount of reading students are expected to complete in a week, what strategic support is being provided to students to enhance comprehension of text, the methodology behind how teachers select both reading assignments and reading strategies, and finally the methodology behind how teachers assess student content learning through assigned text. This study is broken down into three major components: teacher-completed reading logs, student surveys, and two case studies. This mixed methods data collection process revealed that students are typically assigned less than two reading assignments per class per week, however nearly half of these students indicate that they read all of an assigned text. Case study data concluded that teachers are not consistent in their methodology neither in selecting reading assignments nor in utilization of reading strategies. Finally, based on the data, it is reasonable to conclude that students in this setting may not be prepared to handle complex texts found in post-secondary education and/or in the workforce.
reading, comprehension, strategy, content-area literacy, Curriculum and Instruction, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching, Reading and Language, Secondary Education and Teaching
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