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New York Post
16-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
NYC should look to the Mississippi Miracle to learn how to teach reading
If you're a parent of a young reader, would you rather start off in Manhattan or Mississippi? The answer may surprise you. Today, fourth-grade students in Mississippi read almost a full school year ahead of their peers in New York City, according to national test scores. Advertisement It wasn't always this way. In the early 2000s, Mississippi students trailed New York City by half a year. Now students in the Magnolia State read above the national average. Advertisement Mississippi isn't alone: Other high-poverty Southern states have made major gains. These dynamics are part of a post-pandemic shift of red states overtaking blue ones academically. Here's another way of understanding these data: About 31,000 New York City fourth-graders scored at the Below Basic level last year. Advertisement These students struggle to interpret the main character's actions in 'The Tale of Desperaux,' a classic story of a mouse on a quest to rescue a beautiful princess. In this summer's primary election, New Yorkers will effectively choose their next mayor, and the stakes couldn't be higher for Gotham's aspiring readers. Here are three things that the city's next mayor should learn from Mississippi and other Southern states about improving literacy. A general view of school children pictured leaving school on the last day of school before summer vacation on June 18, 2024. Christopher Sadowski Advertisement First, be honest and support struggling readers. While 90% of New York parents think their child reads at or above grade level, only 45% actually do. Mississippi doesn't have this kind of honesty gap. The state sends written notice to parents when children are at risk of being held back and requires schools to create Individualized Reading Plans. These plans include targeted interventions and progress monitoring. Schools also offer summer reading camps with small-group support. Line chart shows reading levels of fourth graders in Mississippi, US, and New York from 2003 to 2024. Mike Guillen/NY Post Design Second, empower educators. Through no fault of their own, teachers around the United States are not well-trained in how to teach reading. Of the 16 teacher-prep programs in New York City, 12 earn a D or F from the latest National Council on Teacher Quality reviews. Advertisement After passing a comprehensive literacy bill in 2013, Mississippi funded a two-year course in evidence-based reading methods for all elementary teachers. The state teachers' association supported the change. NYC could offer salary bonuses for completely similar training. Skeptical of adopting a 'red state' reform? Advertisement Research shows that intensive literacy coaching improved outcomes at scale in California. These investments deliver more bang for the buck than just increasing spending. Under the current mayor, the NYC Reads initiative ended Columbia Teachers College's 'balanced literacy' program, which had been the main approach in city schools for 30 years, and replaced it with three evidence-based programs. Advertisement Two — EL Education and Wit & Wisdom — emphasize nonfiction and reading whole novels, a rarity in an age of rampant screen time. While teachers have been offered some professional learning opportunities, implementation has been uneven. Teachers need more time and support to unlearn what they thought for three decades was the right approach for kids. In the old Teachers College model, fourth-graders reading at a second-grade level were given easy, 'just right' books. Advertisement But research shows this doesn't build vocabulary or background knowledge. As Tim Shanahan of the University of Illinois-Chicago wrote, 'If students are working with texts that they can already read quite well . . . there is little opportunity for learning.' The new curriculum rightly demands grade-level texts, but learning new ways to support students takes time. As Robert Pondiscio wrote in these pages last month, 'If we're serious about raising literacy rates, we need to sustain this effort across years, mayors and chancellors.' Finally, set difficult but achievable goals. In 2013, Mississippi's governor set a clear reading goal — one his successor continues to prioritize. No other governor or mayor does this. Former US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently noted, 'There are no education goals for the country.' With 70% of NYC jobs expected to require some college, the next mayor could set a 2% to 3% annual literacy-growth goal. Over a decade, that would give students a real shot at success. Mississippi's growth has been called a miracle, but that term implies supernatural causes. The state's gains have been made by leaders and teachers implementing a well-designed strategy for a decade. They also know much work remains to see the same rate of growth in eighth-grade scores. New Yorkers take pride in having the best of everything — and often, they do have the best. But when it comes to teaching reading, it's time for humility, and time to learn from those who are doing better. David Scarlett Wakelyn is a former New York Deputy Secretary for Education and a consultant at Upswing Labs. Michael Hartney is the Bruni Family Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and an associate professor of political science at Boston College.
New York Post
23-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Reading opens worlds — and NYC schools are finally getting it right
New York City public schools are doing something rare and important: Sticking with a good idea long enough to make it work. Two years ago, toward the end of the 2022-23 academic year, Mayor Adams launched 'NYC Reads,' a long-overdue course correction mandating the use of evidence-based, phonics-driven reading programs in every public elementary school in the city. On Monday, he expanded the initiative to middle schools. It's an unambiguous win for children and families, and one that deserves support, patience and — most of all — permanence. Reading is the single most important thing New York City's schools need to get right. In an age of rampant screen time, when a disproportionate share of the city's public-school students grow up in low-income homes or where English isn't the primary language, the stakes are even higher. There is simply no educational equity, no opportunity and no meaningful learning without skilled and proficient reading. For decades, literacy instruction in New York City was dominated by the romantic and discredited ideas of Columbia Teachers College professor Lucy Calkins. Her 'balanced literacy' approach rested on the belief that children learn to read naturally, just by exposure to books that interest them, using cues like pictures or context to guess unfamiliar words. One wag aptly dubbed it 'vibes-based literacy.' But reading is not a natural act: Children don't learn to decode print the way they learn to speak. The 'science of reading' — a body of research drawing on cognitive science and linguistics — shows that systematic phonics and structured literacy instruction are essential, especially early on. Anything less is educational malpractice. That's what makes NYC Reads so critical. The city now mandates schools use one of three approved, evidence-based programs paired with explicit phonics instruction in early grades. The program has already touched more than 350,000 city elementary-school students. Expanding it to middle schools ensures continuity and reaches students who may have missed out. To be sure, not everyone is a fan. Some teachers complain that the mandated curricula aren't sufficiently 'culturally responsive,' or that students are less engaged with assigned texts than when choosing their own books. But literacy is the first and last word in equity. Without it, nothing else in a child's education is possible. The resistance merely underscores how deeply rooted the old ways are — and how hard it is to get educators to let go of beliefs they were trained to hold dear. Critics will ask whether these reforms are working. True, test scores haven't soared — but that's not concerning. In fact, if they had done so after just one full year in classrooms, it would be grounds for skepticism. Language proficiency is a slow-growing plant. Phonics is essential, but it takes years (particularly for disadvantaged students) to build the sophisticated vocabulary and background knowledge across subjects that drives mature reading comprehension. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes. What matters is sticking with what works long enough for it to bear fruit. The real challenge isn't curriculum adoption, but implementation. You cannot overstate how hard it is to change classroom practice. For years, New York City teachers were steeped in the Calkins philosophy. They didn't just use her materials; they believed in them. Retraining tens of thousands of teachers means unlearning deeply held convictions, along with adopting new tools. That's why implementation matters as much as the policy itself. Department of Education staff have been aggressively monitoring classrooms to ensure the new curricula are being used and instructional shifts are happening. These are the early signs that NYC Reads is taking root, even before test data catch up. Encouragingly, the United Federation of Teachers has played a constructive role, supporting teachers through the transition and in professional development. But the biggest threat to these reforms isn't instructional — it's political. Adams is up for re-election this year, and NYC Reads is strongly associated with his administration. If he loses, there's a real risk the effort will be scrapped or sidelined by his successor. New Yorkers should demand every mayoral hopeful commit to continuing these essential classroom reforms. If a candidate hedges, it's a red flag. The literacy status quo is indefensible in a city where fewer than half of third-graders read proficiently. NYC Reads is a long game. If we're serious about raising literacy rates, we need to sustain this effort across years, mayors and chancellors. New York has made a promising start. The worst thing we could do now is hit the brakes — or veer off-track. Robert Pondiscio is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former New York City public school teacher.
