Should province set targets to boost kids’ love of reading?

Ella Smyth, 8, reclines on the lower bunk to read. The Smyth family often reads together and parents Kelly and Colin encourage their kids to read.

RICK MADONIK/TORONTO STAR

The Ontario government should set targets to boost the number of students who say they like to read — just as it has set targets for standardized test scores, says People for Education.

“That’s a deeper, more meaningful measure of success than test scores in a way,” said Annie Kidder, executive director of the advocacy and research group. “It would change practices in our schools if you set, as a goal, increasing the percentage of kids who like to read ...”

Without setting an actual target, she said the goal could be “the continued improvement year over year in the percentage of students who answer yes to the question ‘I like to read.’ ”

“I think the first thing we have to do is understand that reading for joy is very important and we have to pay attention to this,” she added. “We can’t think of this as a secondary thing, after skills.”

In a report released Monday, People for Education tracked the percentage of students who reported that they “like to read” on surveys taken alongside provincial tests.

In 2010-11, just half of those in Grades 3 and 6 said they did, down from more than a decade ago where 76 per cent of Grade 3 and 65 per cent of Grade 6 students said they did.

The report’s findings should be seen as a warning signal for government, teachers and parents, said Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.

“We need to find a balance between the kind of assessment (standardized testing) we are doing, and instilling in children a love of reading and setting aside time for that to happen.”

Grace Titus, a Grade 3 student who lives in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood, said her classroom and library at her elementary are well-stocked with graphic novels and non-fiction books on plants and animals — even cookbooks — that she really enjoys.

“There’s time at lunch to read, and I usually read at recess,” said the 7-year-old. “And I read when I’m finished doing my (in-class) work and there’s extra time.”

But more free time to read? “I would like that.”

Laurel Broten, Ontario’s minister of education, noted the decline in reading for pleasure is a trend in developed countries.

“This is a challenge many jurisdictions are facing and we need to hear from experts on how to move forward to keep supporting students,” she said in a statement to the Star. “That’s why it is so important that organizations like People for Education are actively involved in this conversation. We look to groups like this for advice and we take that advice seriously.”

Professor Sharon Murphy, of York University’s faculty of education, said it’s a struggle for today’s teachers to fit in such free time given the jam-packed curriculum and pressure to improve test scores.

She cites the research of one teacher who created a coffee-shop type atmosphere in her classroom, a “comfy space” with big pillows and bean bag chairs, to help foster discussion and an interest in reading.

It’s important too for parents to do that at home, experts say.

“Parents should make sure there are books available in the house, and make sure they are reading with their children,” said Professor Shelley Stagg Peterson of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.

“They can ask their children questions — were they excited about what they just read,” rather than peppering them with comprehension questions.

The education minister also urged parents to keep reading with their kids.

“Clearly, Ontario parents are doing their part as our students are among the top ten in the world for reading and are ranked at the top in Canada” in standardized tests, Broten said.