| Statewide statistics for the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), at the Exit Level, reveal that a great many students are not passing this test. The problem is compounded because this is a graduation test, and the preponderance of students who are failing this test, and are thus not eligible to receive a high school diploma, are of minority race or ethnicity.;The present study explored, from the students' perspectives, the literacy experience of high school seniors who had failed the reading portion of the TAAS, multiple times. There were five participants, aged 16 to 19, who were not members of any special population. They had average or above average grades, yet they had each failed the TAAS, a 10th-grade reading assessment, multiple times. One student was ranked in the top fourth of his class; another was ranked in the top third.;The research used five data collection methods: three 90-minute interviews, classroom observations, document research, a reading habits survey, and a modified IRI. Data were reported, analyzed, and interpreted, and five case studies and a cross-case analysis were produced. Results indicate the following: (1) The students regard reading as necessary for functional purposes such as meeting daily needs. However, with the exception of one student, they are not engaged readers. (2) The students are not avid readers who read long, extended prose text. They read shorter newspaper or magazine articles to find needed information. (3) The reading abilities of these students are adequate to meet their current needs. However, their literacy levels may be inadequate for higher education or for careers they have chosen. (4) For the bilingual students, retaining their first language is a means of preserving their Mexican heritage, and the closeness of the family unit. (5) There is evidence of a strong oral tradition that began when these students were young children, and still continues in the out-of-school environment. (6) High grades in school may confirm that literacy instruction and assessment practices in school are not aligned with the TAAS. |
