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TEXT & RESOURCE REVIEW FORUM: Professional Resources
M. Kristiina Montero | Editor
Call for Collaboration: A Review
of the Handbook of College Reading
and Study Strategy Research
Jennifer C. Theriault
W
ithin the current focus on college and career
readiness, no universal definition of col-
lege readiness exists, largely because of the
multidimensionality of the concept. Rather, various
definitions and measurements prevail, particularly as
multiple factors contribute to the complex notion of col-
lege readiness. Despite disagreements over what college
readiness is and how to measure it, a common tenet of
college readiness is the ability to comprehend complex
texts (e.g., ACT, 2018).
This ability to comprehend complex texts is vital, as
researchers have estimated that 85% of learning comes
from independent reading (Nist & Simpson, 2000). Yet,
the percentage of ACT-tested high school graduates
meeting the ACT readiness benchmarks in reading in
2018 was 46% (ACT, 2018). Within an era centered on the
completion agenda (Inside Higher Ed, 2014), a broad-
based reform movement led by state and federal policy-
makers designed to increase the number of Americans
with postsecondary degrees, college reading readiness
and instruction demands attention.
The third edition of the Handbook of College Reading
and Study Strategy Research, edited by Rona F. Flippo
and Thomas W. Bean (2018), provides such attention
regarding college reading readiness and instruction.
In the first and second editions, published in 2000 and
2009, respectively, the contributing authors addressed
the changing economic, sociocultural, educational, and
political demands related to a field in transition. This
edition is no different, but it sets itself apart in two im-
portant ways. First, one of the editors and several of the
new chapter authors, who have historically been con-
sidered secondary reading researchers, contributed
to this edition. This intentional inclusion of colleagues
from the secondary literacy field supports the hand-
book’s focus on a two-way street between high school
and college. Second, this edition makes an explicit call
for collaboration. Contributing authors invite readers
to think about collaborating across grade levels, institu-
tions, programs, campuses, and disciplines.
This focus on partnerships, particularly between
the fields of secondary and postsecondary literacy, is
critical to the field of college reading and study strategy
instruction in two major ways. First, with completion
agenda programs such as dual credit, which allow stu-
dents to enroll in courses that typically grant academic
credit for both high school and college coursework, both
postsecondary and high school professionals must work
together to address issues such as instructor qualifica-
tions, policies, and curricula. Second, if quality literacy
instruction at all levels is the goal, secondary and post-
secondary professionals must continue professional
development. Thus, the handbook can serve as a profes-
sional development resource for educators and admin-
istrators of college literacy, reading, learning, and study
strategies instruction and student support, as well as
those who work with students in secondary contexts
and students transitioning to postsecondary literacies.
Three themes addressed in the handbook, discussed
next, reflect the pressures and issues facing all stake-
holders of literacy education.
The Handbook's Themes
One major theme throughout the handbook is the deem-
phasis of college reading instruction. Policy mandates,
program models, and developmental education reform,
although many times viable or successful, often un-
dermine college reading instruction. This reduces the
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy Vol. 63 No. 5 pp. 597–599 doi: 10.1002/jaal.1031 © 2020 International Literacy Association
JENNIFER C. THERIAULT is a doctoral candidate
and an instructor in the Department of Curriculum
and Instruction at Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, USA; email jtheriault1@niu.edu.