Minister of Education Terry Lister admitted yesterday that some of Bermuda?s students are not up to par with their reading skills.

But he said Government has programmes and workshops in place to remedy the problem and is planning to do more.

Mr. Lister told the House of Assembly that Terra Nova tests and the Bermuda Educational Assessment Programme show that students are reading below their age levels.

Mr. Lister did not provide any statistics, but the 2003 Terra Nova tests showed that senior school students in particular lagged behind their North American peers with average language scores falling in the 46th percentile ? below the North American aveage.

Middle school students showed big improvements since the tests were introduced in 1999, but remained below average at the 47th percentile in 2003.

?A child who cannot read is unable to have any degree of success in school, or even life,? said Mr. Lister.

He said the Ministry was focusing on providing targeted workshops and professional development to support teachers and schools.

Education officer Darnell Wynn has organised several literacy focused sessions for both schools and parents, said Mr. Lister.

?These sessions have already been offered and have received warm acclaim already this school year and will be repeated throughout the year.?

Currently, reading recovery training is being offered again this year and six primary teachers are in the process of completing this year-long graduate level training.

In September the Ministry hosted the First Bermuda Reading Recovery & Early Literacy Conference, which provided workshops for teachers and administrators on best practices in early literacy instruction and early intervention by leading experts in the field, said Mr. Lister.

Also at the beginning of the school year, a presentation called ?Reading Begins At Home? was presented to mothers.

In October ?The Literacy Survival Kit for Parents? workshop was held at the Educational Expo at CedarBridge Academy. The workshop presented information on the instructional practices of the school and similar supports that could be created at home, said Mr. Lister.

School PTAs have been invited to request this workshop throughout the year.