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In his latest book, “Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen,” Dan Heath discusses a particularly troubling Icelandic problem: The country was producing one of the heaviest-drinking youth populations in Europe.
The associated challenges with this problem were distressful and troublesome. Yet today, Iceland ranks at the top when looking at clean-living European teens. The percent of drunk 15- and 16-year-olds fell from 42% in 1998 to 5% in 2016. At the same time, the percent of teens using cannabis decreased, as did cigarette usage. Iceland’s efforts led to a resounding success, improving the quality of life for Icelandic teens.
How are Iceland’s teenage drinking problems related to Hoosier literacy attainment? The answer can be found in how Iceland managed to dramatically alter the trajectory of teen drug and alcohol abuse.
Rather than a single organization trying to solve the problem through a siloed approach, teen drinking in Iceland became an all-hands-on-deck challenge: It was everyone’s problem and everyone was empowered to fix it.
Once Iceland got serious about this problem, late-night parent patrols started up in Reykjavik. The city’s mayor invested in efforts to bring in more youth-focused music and sporting opportunities. Government funding was provided to help offset costs associated with teen involvement in sports, music, art, dance and clubs. Schools were engaged to provide parental support and education. National policies and laws were amended. Community leaders leaned on an Icelandic research center to understand both data and insights from research around this issue—and annual surveys tracked how Iceland’s teens spent time in productive activities.
What if this same philosophy of “all hands-on deck” were applied to reading attainment in Indiana? What if, like Iceland, we agreed that we have a crisis on our hands that requires urgent attention?
It is no secret that the ability to read adequately across the elementary grades and into secondary school is a critical success measure. We also know that children with underdeveloped reading skills are more likely to struggle with low self-esteem and feelings of adequacy. Currently, only 35% of Indiana’s fourth-graders and 37% of 12th-graders read at or above grade level, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. As a state, it is time for us to set ambitious goals around prioritizing reading.
Mississippi recently made historic gains in reading achievement after officials there focused on aligning the state’s teacher prep programs with the science of reading. They also invested in upskilling the existing teacher workforce using the same standards in a deliberate and focused effort to improve reading attainment. The result: Mississippi was the only state in the nation to post significant gains on the most recent NAEP reading test.
During the pandemic, we’ve seen how philanthropy and government can unite to offer unprecedented levels of support during a crisis. Let’s agree that reading achievement has been a lingering crisis for many Hoosier students. Let’s work to make reading achievement everyone’s problem to solve. Let’s harness the power of philanthropy, coupled with the newfound and unprecedented government support, to dramatically change outcomes for the majority of our state’s students. And like Iceland, let’s look forward to celebrating the impact on students when everyone becomes part of the solution.•
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Dahncke is executive director of the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis.
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