The Nation - News from May 2, 1985

Warning that America is on the verge of widespread “reading stagnation,” a federally sponsored study called for sweeping changes in the way the nation’s children are taught to read. The two-year study recommended that schools alter their teaching and testing methods and that parents take a more active role in their children’s reading development. “Our children are suffering as a result of not becoming readers and not becoming literate, and the costs of illiteracy are enormous,” said Education Secretary William J. Bennett.