Commitment and Resources Will Help End Illiteracy

Literacy remains one of the biggest issues to confront nations around the world. Some estimates indicate that 860 million adults (nearly two-thirds are women) do not know how to read or write and more than 100 million children are uneducated. In the United States, it's estimated that 7 million elementary-aged children perform below his or her reading potential.

To focus attention on the issue of literacy, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) annually sponsors World Literacy Day on September 8.

University of Maryland Education Professor Peter Afflerbach is an expert in the best ways to teach and assess reading. He says it will take both commitment and hard work to improve reading literacy at home and abroad:

For the vast majority of readers, (it's important) to provide carefully tailored reading instruction and reading experiences that build on readers' strengths and address readers' needs. This should lead to students' increased reading achievement and increased enthusiasm for reading.
The downside is that the above will demand an extraordinary commitment of time and effort (i.e., money and work). It will also demand the concerted and coordinated efforts of teachers, parents, administrators, schools, homes and communities.

Peter Afflerbach

Credentials - the author of a number of articles and papers on reading, Professor Afflerbach has studied how children can move beyond basic reading literacy. He has also looked at strategies to help children read more and do a better job of understanding what they are reading. He has served on the National Assessment of Educational Progress Reading Committee for more than 11 years. He is also on the NAEP Framework Committee for 2009 (when the NAEP will be changed in format and focus). Before moving to the university level, he taught reading in both elementary and middle school.
Contact - (301)-405-3159 (office); afflo@umd.edu

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