Why Schoolchildren Can't Read

Bonnie Macmillan

Bonnie Macmillan describes the findings of the most up-to-date experimental research on beginning reading instruction. Research points decisively to the need for direct teaching of certain key skills in order to produce maximum reading success.

Paperback, 212 pages

Executive Summary

Learning to read is the most important task of early childhood. Success or failure in this skill has a profound effect on the future of every child. All parents, indeed all of us, should be concerned that the methods used to teach this crucial skill are the best possible.

In Why Schoolchildren Can't Read, Dr Bonnie Macmillan describes the findings of the most up-to-date experimental research on beginning reading instruction. Research points decisively to the need for direct teaching of certain key skills in order to produce maximum reading success.

However, an examination of how children are taught to read in England's primary schools reveals a large discrepancy between the methods currently used and those which research demonstrates are the most effective.

The consequences of this alarming gap between reading research and teaching practice are seen in the rising number of schoolchildren who are failing to learn how to read.

This book provides answers to some of the most controversial issues in education today. What are the causes of the disturbing incidence of reading failures? Why are the best methods to teach reading not being used in our primary schools?