The School Principal – The Real Challenge to Improving Reading Results in Grades 3–8: Nonfiction

Scoring student assessments since the beginning of NYS performance testing has demonstrated little improvement in results. This is clearly seen in both ELA and science testing. The pattern typically portrayed in reading fiction is easily acquired and is less taxing than reading nonfiction. Reading challenges for nonfiction require a deeper emphasis on the importance of inferences and details for comprehension, which many students lack.

The National Council of Teachers of English (2025) emphasizes the crucial role nonfiction literature plays in K-12 education, advocating for its broader use in classrooms. Here are three key highlights from their position:

1. Engages Critical Thinking: Nonfiction literature helps students develop critical thinking skills by offering multiple perspectives on historical and current events, scientific discoveries, and social issues.
2. Addresses Important Social Issues: It tackles subjects like racism, oppression, and societal change, empowering students to confront global and local challenges with informed perspectives.
3. Supports Diverse Literacy: Nonfiction literature enhances literacy by integrating factual information with storytelling techniques, offering a dynamic and multimodal reading experience that builds students’ informational and visual literacy.

Students tend to lack an understanding of the nature and importance of nonfiction texts. Familiarity with nonfiction structures helps students lessen the struggle with more complex structures of nonfiction texts, such as cause/effect or compare/contrast, which differ from the more familiar narrative structures of fiction. In addition, students are typically more familiar with and interested in fiction, making nonfiction seem less important. However, aligning nonfiction reading with students’ curiosity about real-world topics can boost motivation. Also, it develops deeper reading skills that will be increasingly important throughout one’s lifetime.

Familiarity with nonfiction text structures assists in comprehending its purpose and the nature of structure to inform.

• Nonfiction Text Structure
• Procedural: To teach something
• Compare-Contrast: To study two or more things
• Cause-Effect: To relate two things
• Problem-Solution: To show before and after something

To effectively read and comprehend nonfiction, the following strategies provide an important pathway to comprehension:

• Skim the material first to get an overview of the main ideas.
• Take notes while reading to reinforce understanding and retention.
• Highlight key concepts and terms for easy reference later.
• Summarize each section in your own words to ensure comprehension.
• Ask questions about the content to deepen your engagement.
• Discuss the material with others to gain different perspectives.

The earlier students engage in nonfiction reading, the sooner they will acquire a more mature approach to reading. This is particularly true when nonfiction reading is emphasized in grades 3 through 8.

Those interested in learning more about EdVistas’ nonfiction text-based assessments may do so by contacting Pete Cooper at 518-925-6021 or pcooper@edvistas.com.