Education agency for South sounds alarm about lower literacy levels, pushes work on reading

A report from the Southern Regional Education Board urges states and school districts in the South to evaluate and develop new “comprehensive adolescent literacy policies that establish improvement in middle grades and high school reading and writing as the most immediate critical priority for public schools,” writes SREB Communications Director Alan Richard.

Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, chair of the nonpartisan SREB, is calling on schools across the south to address the problems of decreased literacy levels. Although a specific rural angle was not addressed, the South is the nation's most rural region and many of its school districts have poor reading scores. "We can’t expect to see achievement rise in math, science and other subjects unless students can read, write and communicate at more advanced levels," Governor Kaine said Friday. "Our nation’s economic prosperity depends on our making progress in education." Read more.