We Know How to Teach All Students to Read — But Is Anyone Actually Doing It?
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder discusses the gap between knowing how to teach reading effectively and actually implementing that knowledge at scale.
Key Takeaways
- The science is clear - We know how to teach reading through systematic phonics and evidence-based instruction
- Implementation is the bottleneck - Knowing what works and actually doing it in every classroom are very different things
- Some places are doing it - States like Mississippi have shown that implementation at scale is possible and produces dramatic results
Transcript
We know how to teach all kids to read, but is anybody actually doing it?
Is anyone actually succeeding at teaching all children to read, especially in high poverty schools?
Well, as it turns out, yes.
In Steubenville, Ohio, Emily Hanford reports in some new episodes of her Sold a Story podcast There is a 25-year track record of teaching every single child to become a fluent reader by the end of elementary school.
And I want to encourage you to listen to these two episodes because it is a remarkable story and it's one that can be replicated nationwide.
One of the big secrets in Steubenville is success for all.
They are using a whole school model that gets students to school, that gives them the type of instruction they need, that gives them the type of support they need.
And support is critical, as I told Dr.
Phil.
Thank you.
And here's the thing.
We know how to teach all children to read.
This is not some mystery.
This was figured out a long time ago.
Do we?
We absolutely do.
And we've seen new legislation around the science of reading to make sure that all schools are using evidence-based practices so that students don't slip through the cracks.
But I think what a lot of it comes down to, Dr.
Phil, is support.
Teachers are being asked to do this all on their own.
So if you have 20 students who are below grade level, you're expected to catch them up on your own.
And there is just not time in the day.
Teachers need help.
So what does that support look like?
One thing it looks like is support with evidence-based instructional practices, which often go by the term science of reading.
And we have really well established, well proven curriculum now that can actually give teachers a good shot at getting their students to read.
The thing is, we're still going to have students who need support.
We're going to have students who are absent a lot and don't benefit from the curriculum that's taught when they're not there.
We're going to have kids who will slip through the cracks unless we provide something more intensive.
And one of the things we need to provide, as I hinted at, is tutoring.
Kids need individual attention throughout the school day in order to close any gaps that they may have.
So I think this needs to be an all hands on deck priority for us as a nation and as a profession to get every kid reading.
Let me know what you think.