For the past decade, Scholastic has spearheaded original research to gain deeper insights into the views and experiences of families and educators. Scholastic regularly publishes two report series: the Kids & Family Reading Report™, which surveys children and their parents on their attitudes and behaviors about reading, and the Teacher & Principal School Report, which explores pressing topics affecting today's classrooms, including equity in education, funding priorities, family engagement, literacy, and more. The Company has also published additional reports and compendiums, which you can learn more about below.
Research and Reports
Kids & Family Reading Report™
The Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™ is an expansive survey sharing the views of both kids and parents on reading books for fun and the influences that impact kids’ reading frequency and attitudes toward reading. It is a biennial report in the U.S., with 2019 unveiling the seventh edition, released in three installments.
The 7th Edition
- Finding Their Story: Key findings reveal that families expect more from children’s books, children’s interest and engagement in reading declines by the age of nine, the demand for diversity in children’s books is on the rise, kids need help finding books, and when kids choose, kids read.
- The Rise of Read-Aloud: Key findings reveal that more parents are reading to their young children, the family read-aloud experience is overwhelmingly positive, and read-aloud frequency is on the rise, although the read-aloud continues to decline after age five.
- The Summer Reading Imperative: Key findings reveal that when families are aware of the “summer slide” they are more engaged in summer reading. However, this awareness only reaches about half of parents. The findings also reveal that more kids are reading zero books over the summer, along with what families are doing to encourage summer reading.
International Editions
- Around the globe, the Kids & Family Reading Report has also been released in Canada (2017), Australia (2016), India (2016), and the United Kingdom (2015).
Teacher & Principal School Report
The Scholastic Teacher & Principal School Report series showcases the results of two national surveys of public school pre-K–12 educators on critical issues affecting public schools across the U.S.
2nd Edition
- This series of blog posts explores the views and experiences of educators both prior to the coronavirus pandemic in winter 2020, and during the pandemic in summer 2020.
Two in Depth Reports
- Equity in Education: This report offers a close look at the barriers to equity in education, educators’ funding priorities, and their personal spending for students and classrooms.
- Focus on Literacy: This report explores educators’ views on the importance of reading, the barriers to independent reading time in school, and the home-to-school connection.
State Reports
- The series also takes a deep dive into 16 states, revealing the striking similarity of challenges educators face nationwide, even as it uncovers fascinating differences on a more local level.
- These states include: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.
School Libraries Work!
The 2016 edition of School Libraries Work!, a research compendium, provides evidence of the positive impact of school librarians and libraries on student learning, while confirming that when school librarian staffing is reduced, student achievement in English language arts (ELA) suffers.
- Observations from such leading experts as Dr. Carol C. Kuhlthau, Dr. Keith Curry Lance, and Dr. Ross J. Todd, and national- and state-level findings from more than 30 separate research studies, are included.
- The report demonstrates the integral role school libraries play in teaching and supporting student success.
Primary Sources
As a joint project of Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Primary Sources elevated the voice of teachers in the dialogue surrounding education. This report is for educators, policymakers, education stakeholders, and parents.
History
- The first edition, which was fielded in 2009 and surveyed more than 40,000 teachers, was widely considered the largest-ever survey of America’s teachers.
- The second and third editions were fielded in 2011 and 2013, respectively. The second survey asked more than 10,000 teachers about the state of teaching and the state of their schools, while the third survey asked 20,000 teachers their views on the many changes occurring in America’s classrooms.
- Acknowledging the fast pace of these changes, the 2014 Update showed the impact of one year on teachers’ views on education policy.
Report Archive and Downloads
- 2014 Common Core Update (pdf, 1.0 MB)
- Primary Sources: America’s Teachers on Teaching in an Era of Change (Third Edition, 2013 - pdf, 2.5 MB)
- Primary Sources: America’s Teachers on the Teaching Profession (Second Edition, 2012 - pdf, 3.7 MB)
- 2009 State-Level Data (Includes CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MA, NC, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN - pdf, 6 MB)
- Primary Sources: America’s Teachers on America’s Schools (2009, First Edition - pdf, 1 MB)