By: Terrence Mills and Luke Lohman

  Literacy has always been a value that some people choose to ignore, for this project we decided to research the literacy rates in Richmond and Virginia as a whole.  Our research has given the adult and child side to the story as we interviewed a literacy coach for Henrico county public schools.  Literacy coaches teach the teachers how to teach reading and have a large part in the testing of reading, giving our interviewee extensive knowledge on the subject. She only teaches k-5, but sometimes takes part in pre-schooling.  On the whole or large picture side we also researched the literacy rates in Virginia and Richmond to better understand the adult side to the story. Introduction

  The literacy rate is the percentage of the adult population that cannot read so higher is worse, just like golf.  Do to the nature of the survey the literacy rate is not quite as accurate as expected due to many reasons. The main reason is that illiterate people do not take part in many surveys and probably are not proud of the fact that they cannot read, so they ignore the survey.  In Henrico county the literacy rate is 9% compared to Hanover with 7%, Chesterfield 8%, Goochland 10%, and Richmond City with 16%.  In Virginia as a whole the literacy rate is 12%.  One a smaller scale note (literally as this pertains to children) open libraries and other incentives to read have been placed by the county of Henrico, and many others. Many librarians state that the amount of books checked out grows every year, and according to our interviewee so does the value of reading in schools.  Online reading tests have started to grow, and many schools practice for this, but some schools unlike Moody do not have the opportunity to have this privilege and as a result do not get as much practice in this area. This may cause the reading scores to drop in the schools and areas.  The yo-yo effect also plays a role. This states that as people focus on one subject the others get overlooked and those scores drop. Sometimes reading is a victim to this, so although the children are not worse readers they are just focusing on other things like math or science. Research

  1. What is the literacy rate for Henrico county?  2. In the past years, has there been an increase or a decrease in the Henrico County literacy rates?  3. What have schools and libraries in Henrico County done to help raise the literacy rates?  4. Are the literacy rates in Henrico County lower or higher than the literacy rates in other counties?  5. Have the measures taken to improve the literacy rates had any significant effect?  6. Apparently in 2008 Virginia’s literacy rates dropped, in that time did you notice any changes in the teachers or students scores?  7. Over a period of time how does this year compare with others?  8. Is there a certain year that really stands out to you?  9. Have you noticed a change in the teachers or students?  10. Is there any other information about this topic that stands out in your mind? The Interview: Questions

  1. “The National Center for Education Statistics provided the only rates that I could find. The literacy rate for Henrico County was listed at 9%. That means that 9% of our county’s adult population cannot read. The sates (Virginia) literacy rate is 12%.”  2. The previous rates I saw on Henrico County was 12%. It appears to have decreased.”  3. “I only have elementary school knowledge so I can only answer for grades prek-5. The county has increased the number of federally funded preschools in our elementary schools. Many preschoolers that would have not gotten any schooling before kindergarten are now attending these preschools. This is making a big impact because these children are now prepared. Fiver years ago the county issued a “Literacy Plan” for all elementary schools. This important plan is for teachers and outlines the expectations for daily reading. All libraries have been updated and they all received a collection of new books. Many students also receive a bag of books at the end of the year to read over the summer. This is an attempt to make the students read over the summer as this has been a challenge in the past. We also have a new reading assessment that will track the growth of students reading in grades 3-5. It is called MAPS or NWEA.  1. What is the literacy rate for Henrico county?  2. In the past years, has there been an increase or a decrease in the Henrico County literacy rates?  3. What have schools and libraries in Henrico County done to help raise the literacy rates? The Interview: Answers

  4. “Here are the other literacy rates in neighboring counties: Henrico 9%, Hanover 7%, Chesterfield 8%, Goochland 10%, Richmond City 16%.  5. “We have seem areas of growth and other areas that continue to remain the same. The biggest growth is in the preschool program.  6. “First of all, I do not work with adults and those statistics are for adults. As for changes in the students there are always changes. Sometimes the schools focus on other subjects, while reading is kind of forgotten. This causes the test score to lower.”  7. “This year does not seem any different than any other. As time goes on the scores seem to get higher due to some of the measures taken by Henrico county. Libraries also play an important part making checkouts easier and the book variety larger.”  8. “Not in my mind, no. The scores seem to get slightly better each year, there are no sudden changes. The only thing that is really starting to change is the summer reading programs. As I mentioned before many schools are focusing on this because the scores over the summer drop as the students forget the material learned the year before.”  9. “Henrico county isn’t hiring teachers very often, and the teachers are getting better because of it. Only the best teachers are hired, and they also seem much better about technology which is an accomplishment. As for the students it is hard to tell the progress, but the scores seem to get better each year especially thanks to preschools which prepare the students for the elementary level.”  10. “The only thing that comes to mind is the fact that technology is starting to play a large part in reading as time progresses. The schools have to make sure the students are experienced in reading on the screen as well as on paper. Libraries are even putting e-books online.”  4. Are the literacy rates in Henrico County lower or higher than the literacy rates in other counties?  5. Have the measures taken to improve the literacy rates had any significant effect?  6. Apparently in 2008 Virginia’s literacy rates dropped, in that time did you notice any changes in the teachers or students scores?  7. Over a period of time how does this year compare with others?  8. Is there a certain year that really stands out to you?  9. Have you noticed a change in the teachers or students?  10. Is there any other information about this topic that stands out in your mind? The Interview: Answers

  "National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) Years of Literacy." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education. Web. 07 Dec  Facts and Statistics for Adult Education and Literacy in Virginia | Find Links, Reports, Statistics, and Current Information about the State of Adult Literacy Today. Web. 07 Dec  Gorenflo, Kim B. "Literacy Rates." Personal interview. 6 Dec  Make It Work Mom. Web. 07 Dec (picture) Bibliography

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