Advancing Adolescent Literacy: The Cornerstone of School Reform

This report is a review of an adolescent literacy initiative established by the Carnegie Corporation of New York as part of its broader efforts to increase student achievement, specifically among historically under-served populations. The author explains the process undertaken in developing the Advancing Literacy Initiative over time and how the Carnegie Corporation parlayed that work into the effort that allowed adolescent literacy to define the education reform movement. They state that literacy should be a focus point in secondary education, not only in grades K-3, and references the initiative's final report that outlines specific recommendations for how to redesign schools and promote excellence through increased focus on literacy.