Illiteracy in America is down, but not out. Until every man, woman, and child is literate the work will never be done. But thanks to advances in education technology designed to help struggling adolescent readers, illiteracy has gone down substantially over the last few decades and is continuing to drop as new and improved reading intervention programs are created.

Scholastic's Read 180 program is an excellent example of utilizing modern technology to improve adolescent literacy in our public schools. Studies done in several cities across the U.S. show a marked improvement in test scores with students who participate in reading intervention programs.

In the case of Read 180, which takes full advantage of the latest in education technology to train struggling readers, the improvement over control groups was an average of 200 percent.

Scholastic has been able to integrate all parts of education technology, new and old, addressing a struggling reader's needs on multiple fronts to vastly improve adolescent literacy and reading test scores.

A vital part of ending illiteracy in America is early reading intervention. Parents and educators should be aware of the signs of a struggling reader who is not quite up to par with others in his or her age group. Those who struggle should be identified early on and intervention implemented to ensure that as a child grows into adolescence, they are not simply left behind and forgotten about while their classmates continue on without them.

There are many facets that contribute to illiteracy, which is why early intervention is so vital. Fear of mockery, lack of interest in reading materials, and difficulty in comprehending a specific teaching style can all contribute to factors that create a struggling reader, but have nothing to do with the student's intelligence or ability to learn.

Early reading intervention can identify the specific cause of a struggling reader and implement appropriate education technology, methods, and support to ensure a literate future for all children.

Author Bio:- Brian Saunders is a senior teacher helping struggling readers and English language learners on bilingual education, ESL, youth bilingual education, book leveled reading educational technology, adolescent literacy, reading intervention.

About the Author

Author Bio:- Brian Saunders is a senior teacher helping struggling readers and English language learners on bilingual education, ESL, youth bilingual education, book leveled reading educational technology, adolescent literacy, reading intervention.