May 2008 — News
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Study Reveals What Kids Are Reading for School
In grades 9 through 12, seven books from the J.K. Rowling Harry Potter franchise made the top 20. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird was No. 1. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men was No. 3 (behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). William Golding's Lord of the Flies was No. 14. George Orwell's Animal Farm came in at No. 16. And F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby came in at 17. Arthur Miller and William Shakespeare made a showing at No. 13 and No. 20, respectively, with The Crucible and Romeo and Juliet.
Many other literary standbys--Hemingway, Faulkner, Salinger, etc.--didn't make the published report, which covered only the 20 most popular books read by students at each grade level, but were, of course, part of the curriculum. Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea came in at 43 for grades 9 through 12. Others were buried further down, according to Truby.
Data from the study spanned all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Renaissance Learning's software is currently used in more than 68,000 schools across the country. The complete study, with statistics, explanations, geographical and gender breakdown, and further commentary, can be downloaded from Renaissance Learning's Web site here. A printed version of the report is also available. A PDF can be downloaded directly here.
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About the author: David Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's online education technology publications, including THE Journal and Campus Technology. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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