Literacy in Mississippi needs help

Brian Rosenkrans
DM Senior Staff writer

Did you know that Mississippi has the highest rate of illiteracy in the nation?

That Mississippi has the highest rate of poverty and the lowest expenditure of state funds on literacy of any state?

That 35 percent of adults (about 700,000) are reading below the intermediate level?

That 38 percent of high school graduates and 12 percent of college graduates are reading "at risk" in Mississippi?

According to the Governor's Office of Literacy and the Mississippi Literacy Resource Center, those are the facts.

Startling as they may seem, it should perhaps leave no question as to the importance of today's record $100 million donation to Ole Miss and the state of Mississippi for the creation of Barksdale Reading Institute.

The donation, given by Ole Miss alumni James and Sally Barksdale, will establish a program to increase the reading proficiency of elementary students, K-3rd grade.

The institute's headquarters will be at Ole Miss but will award grants to teachers at seven other public universities in Mississippi. These schools are Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State University and the University of Southern Mississippi.

The program will also be under the control of the Mississippi State Department of Education, which will oversee the allocation of funds to the various institutes.

The program will allow the schools to hire reading faculty members who will help with reading instruction as well as work with teachers in the field. It will be designed to provide a systematic approach to teaching children how to read in Mississippi.

According to the State department of Education, Mississippi fourth graders taking the National Assessment of Education Progress reading exam in 1998 posted a score of 204 out of possible 500 score. While the score was an improvement from 1994's score of 202, Mississippi students still fell behind the southeastern average of 210 and the national average of 215.

The creation of the new Barksdale Reading Institute will be designed to encourage the improvement of those scores.