Science of Reading

We believe all children deserve to learn to read, and all teachers can learn to teach them.

Despite ample resources and a reputation as one of California’s top districts, we were dramatically failing high-need students in education’s most fundamental subject: reading. For me, as a school board member, that was a tough pill to swallow.

I can’t fully recall how I learned to read; it just seemed to click. I vaguely remember my mom using flash cards to teach me how to sound out letters, and that’s about it. I was one of the lucky ones — I picked up reading relatively easily.

One of America’s most highly regarded experts on literacy, Louisa Moats puts forth a reasoned, thoughtful article about the science of reading in this special edition of the American Federation of Teachers publication in 2020. Several links also explore the topic.

Award-winning broadcasts and reports about how balanced literacy got it so wrong. Scroll down for a series of investigative reports about literacy instruction in America that led to sweeping action in legislation to reform reading instruction across the country—that aligns with the scientific research of the National Reading Panel in 2000.

En todo Estados Unidos, las escuelas han estado enseñando a leer con un método que no funciona muy bien. Hace décadas que los estudios científicos lo desmintieron. A algunos niños puede causarles daños duraderos. En Sold a Story, la reportera Emily Hanford investiga a los influyentes autores que promovieron este método y a la empresa que vende sus obras. Desvela cómo los educadores llegaron a creer en algo que no es verdad y ahora se enfrentan a las consecuencias: niños perjudicados, dinero despilfarrado y un sistema educativo trastornado.

Learn about the work of internationally acclaimed researcher and author Maryanne Wolf. Ph.D., who established the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners and Social Justice at UCLA. Her book, Proust and the Squid is essential, high-level reading about how the human brain learns to read; Reader Come Home addresses challenges to the reading brain in a digital world.

The author of the well-reviewed Reading at the Speed of Sight offers in-depth thought about various aspects of reading instruction, along with links to various additional presentations.

Proponents of balanced literacy have simply ignored the findings of the National Reading Panel in 2000, and every study since then about how the brain learns to read. Locally, they have simply forged ahead, assuring themselves and others that the abysmal test scores resulting from their instructional approach showed “pockets of hope,” a phrase education administrators seem to like.

The science of reading has culminated in a preponderance of evidence to inform how proficient reading and writing develop; why some have difficulty; and how we can most effectively assess and teach and, therefore, improve student outcomes through prevention and intervention of reading difficulties.

Why more U.S. schools are embracing a new ‘science of reading’

Research conducted at Brown University on several low-scoring states that improved reading results after implementing the Science of Reading

All children deserve to learn to read, and all teachers deserve the preparation and support that will allow them to help their students achieve this goal. Yet more than one-third of fourth graders—1.3 million children 1 in the U.S.—cannot read at a basic level.2 Not learning how to read has lifelong consequences.

NCTQ analysis of 693 programs finds many still promote balanced literacy methods that have kids guess at words rather than sound them out.

95 Percent Group builds on science to empower teachers – supplying the knowledge, resources, and support they need to develop strong readers.