Latest news with #scienceofreading
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Opinion: How do Kids Learn to Read? There Are as Many Ways as There Are Students
This article was originally published in The Conversation. Five years after the pandemic forced children into remote instruction, two-thirds of U.S. fourth graders still cannot read at grade level. Reading scores lag 2 percentage points below 2022 levels and 4 percentage points below 2019 levels. This data from the 2024 report of National Assessment of Educational Progress, a state-based ranking sometimes called 'America's report card,' has concerned educators scrambling to boost reading skills. Many school districts have adopted an evidence-based literacy curriculum called the 'science of reading' that features phonics as a critical component. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Phonics strategies begin by teaching children to recognize letters and make their corresponding sounds. Then they advance to manipulating and blending first-letter sounds to read and write simple, consonant-vowel-consonant words – such as combining 'b' or 'c' with '-at' to make 'bat' and 'cat.' Eventually, students learn to merge more complex word families and to read them in short stories to improve fluency and comprehension. Proponents of the curriculum celebrate its grounding in brain science, and the science of reading has been credited with helping Louisiana students outperform their pre-pandemic reading scores last year. In practice, Louisiana used a variety of science of reading approaches beyond phonics. That's because different students have different learning needs, for a variety of reasons. Yet as a scholar of reading and language who has studied literacy in diverse student populations, I see many schools across the U.S. placing a heavy emphasis on the phonics components of the science of reading. If schools want across-the-board gains in reading achievement, using one reading curriculum to teach every child isn't the best way. Teachers need the flexibility and autonomy to use various, developmentally appropriate literacy strategies as needed. Related Phonics programs often require memorizing word families in word lists. This works well for some children: Research shows that 'decoding' strategies such as phonics can support low-achieving readers and learners with dyslexia. However, some students may struggle with explicit phonics instruction, particularly the growing population of neurodivergent learners with autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These students learn and interact differently than their mainstream peers in school and in society. And they tend to have different strengths and challenges when it comes to word recognition, reading fluency and comprehension. This was the case with my own child. He had been a proficient reader from an early age, but struggles emerged when his school adopted a phonics program to balance out its regular curriculum, a flexible literature-based curriculum called Daily 5 that prioritizes reading fluency and comprehension. I worked with his first grade teacher to mitigate these challenges. But I realized that his real reading proficiency would likely not have been detected if the school had taught almost exclusively phonics-based reading lessons. Another weakness of phonics, in my experience, is that it teaches reading in a way that is disconnected from authentic reading experiences. Phonics often directs children to identify short vowel sounds in word lists, rather than encounter them in colorful stories. Evidence shows that exposing children to fun, interesting literature promotes deep comprehension. To support different learning styles, educators can teach reading in multiple ways. This is called balanced literacy, and for decades it was a mainstay in teacher preparation and in classrooms. Balanced literacy prompts children to learn words encountered in authentic literature during guided, teacher-led read-alouds – versus learning how to decode words in word lists. Teachers use multiple strategies to promote reading acquisition, such as blending the letter sounds in words to support 'decoding' while reading. Another balanced literacy strategy that teachers can apply in phonics-based strategies while reading aloud is called 'rhyming word recognition.' The rhyming word strategy is especially effective with stories whose rhymes contribute to the deeper meaning of the story, such as Marc Brown's 'Arthur in a Pickle.' After reading, teachers may have learners arrange letter cards to form words, then tap the letter cards while saying and blending each sound to form the word. Similar phonics strategies include tracing and writing letters to form words that were encountered during reading. There is no one right way to teach literacy in a developmentally appropriate, balanced literacy framework. There are as many ways as there are students. Related The push for the phonics-based component of the science of reading is a response to the discrediting of the Lucy Calkins Reading Project, a balanced literacy approach that uses what's called 'cueing' to teach young readers. Teachers 'cue' students to recognize words with corresponding pictures and promote guessing unfamiliar words while reading based on context clues. A 2024 class action lawsuit filed by Massachusetts families claimed that this faulty curriculum and another cueing-based approach called Fountas & Pinnell had failed readers for four decades, in part because they neglect scientifically backed phonics instruction. But this allegation overlooks evidence that the Calkins curriculum worked for children who were taught basic reading skills at home. And a 2021 study in Georgia found modest student achievement gains of 2% in English Language Arts test scores among fourth graders taught with the Lucy Calkins method. Related Nor is the method unscientific. Using picture cues with corresponding words is supported by the predictable language theory of literacy. This approach is evident in Eric Carle's popular children's books. Stories such as the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' and 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?' have vibrant illustrations of animals and colors that correspond with the text. The pictures support children in learning whole words and repetitive phrases, suchg as, 'But he was still hungry.' The intention here is for learners to acquire words in the context of engaging literature. But critics of Calkins contend that 'cueing' during reading is a guessing game. They say readers are not learning the fundamentals necessary to identify sounds and word families on their way to decoding entire words and sentences. As a result, schools across the country are replacing traditional learn-to-read activities tied to balanced literacy approaches with the science of reading. Since its inception in 2013, the phonics-based curriculum has been adopted by 40 states and the Disctrict of Columbia. The most scientific way to teach reading, in my opinion, is by not applying the same rigid rules to every child. The best instruction meets students where they are, not where they should be. Here are five evidence-based tips to promote reading for all readers that combine phonics, balanced literacy and other methods. 1. Maintain the home-school connection. When schools send kids home with developmentally appropriate books and strategies, it encourages parents to practice reading at home with their kids and develop their oral reading fluency. Ideally, reading materials include features that support a diversity of learning strategies, including text, pictures with corresponding words and predictable language. 2. Embrace all reading. Academic texts aren't the only kind of reading parents and teachers should encourage. Children who see menus, magazines and other print materials at home also acquire new literacy skills. 3. Make phonics fun. Phonics instruction can teach kids to decode words, but the content is not particularly memorable. I encourage teachers to teach phonics on words that are embedded in stories and texts that children absolutely love. 4. Pick a series. High-quality children's literature promotes early literacy achievement. Texts that become increasingly more complex as readers advance, such as the 'Arthur' step-into-reading series, are especially helpful in developing reading comprehension. As readers progress through more complex picture books, caregivers and teachers should read aloud the 'Arthur' novels until children can read them independently. Additional popular series that grow with readers include 'Otis,' 'Olivia,' 'Fancy Nancy' and 'Berenstain Bears.' 5. Tutoring works. Some readers will struggle despite teachers' and parents' best efforts. In these cases, intensive, high-impact tutoring can help. Sending students to one session a week of at least 30 minutes is well documented to help readers who've fallen behind catch up to their peers. Many nonprofit organizations, community centers and colleges offer high-impact tutoring. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
After lagging test scores, Minnesota overhauled reading instruction standards. One district says it's already seeing results
Half of Minnesota students can't read at grade level, according to statewide test scores. Two years ago, the Legislature took that as a lesson and overhauled the standards of how kids are taught to read. In St. Paul Public Schools, teachers and administrators who began transitioning literacy instruction during the pandemic before lawmakers mandated the change say they are already seeing results, providing a glimpse into how the state is poised to the page on lagging test scores in the years to come. "The way that we had been teaching literacy for years was not working for a very large population of students," said Jessica Bernard, a fourth grade teacher at Chelsea Heights Elementary School, in a recent interview with WCCO. Bernard is one of thousands of teachers who is in the midst of training on the new standards approved in what's known as the READ Act, short for "Reading to Ensure Academic Development." Its approach is rooted in "the science of reading," which is a body of research that shows the most effective strategies focus on explicit instruction on phonics and teaching students to decode different parts of words to make sense of them. For years, there was more of an emphasis on context clues and sometimes using pictures on a page to determine what words mean. Bernard said that method left more children guessing than actually learning how to read. "There's those kids that just reading comes very naturally, and they already can kind of attack those words and figure them out on their own," Bernard explained. "Then for the vast majority, they're looking at the beginning sound and they're guessing based on the picture, or they're just skipping the word altogether." 40 states plus Washington, D.C. have overhauled state policies for reading instruction in the last decade to align with the science of reading, according to an analysis by Education Week. Mississippi was the first in 2013, but the bulk of the states adopted those laws within the last five years. Minnesota's law came in 2023 and it's still in the process of taking effect in schools across the state. But St. Paul was already making the shift two years prior, using pandemic-era federal funds to start a program where specialized teachers work in small reading groups with kids who need additional help. They taught similar techniques required by the new law and even though those federal funds have dried up, some of those teachers are still around. Administrators at St. Paul Public Schools say the data speaks for itself. According to their literacy screenings last school year, 87% of kindergarteners who were part of the special reading program improved their reading skills. That's more than students who weren't in the program with 81% of students seeing those results. Overall, the district is seeing improvement across kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms, according to a spokesperson. "I did not expect how effective the program would be, the amount of growth and the amount of students that we've seen that kind of come to school, shy, unable to read, and then in, you know, months, they are reading and enjoying texts," said Andrew Lee, one of the reading specialists who is still working within the district. "It is so unbelievably exciting." Lee said he has seen enormous growth with the small groups he works with between third and fifth grades as a reading intervention teacher. He sees those students for about 30 minutes every day. "Is this like the golden ticket? No. But is it for sure going to be effective? We're obviously seeing that it is," Lee said in an interview. "We believe in the science of reading and what it's doing for kids," Bernard added. Full impact of READ Act on test scores not expected until 2030,key education official says The READ Act is not a quick fix. Training will be ongoing the next two years to get all teachers up to speed on foundational reading skills and full implementation is charted over a four-year period. And statewide results won't be immediate: Not until the 2028-2029 school year will students get three full years of foundational instruction and reading skills set by the new law, said Bobbie Burnham, assistant commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Education's Office of Teaching and Learning during a briefing to legislators earlier this year. The department expects to see some improvement on the statewide test scores—the results from the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment—in 2027 but won't see the full impact of the changes until 2030. But the law requires other screenings required in the beginning, middle and end of school years starting in kindergarten to track progress. That's what St. Paul has used to monitor its success so far. The Minnesota Department of Education will begin collecting that information from districts next summer. "The goal of the READ act --- it used to be read well by third grade, that children would read well by third grade. The READ act really moves that target further into the system by ensuring that kids are reading well at grade level beginning in kindergarten," she said. As of January, there were 34,000 teachers registered to take training on the new standards, which is expected to end in the summer of 2027. Bernard admits it's time-consuming on top of everyday lessons in the classroom. She does the work after the bell rings on professional development days. The training amounts to anywhere from 60 to 130 hours, depending on the course type. The state approved three of them so far, but they could make additions. "I think it's important. And I think the people who have bought into the science of reading know its importance and are willing to kind of take on that big, heavy lift," Bernard said. "But I'm not going to say that it's been easy for people, because it hasn't." Lawmakers concede a change as large as the READ Act will require revisions. This session, the House and Senate versions of a K-12-related policy and budget bills, there are some adjustments to the law, including tightening up definitions and other additions to make the process smoother. "This is something that we took on as a state, which means we're going to have to continue to tweak this as a state. As we learn more information and as we encounter new deadlines, we're going to have to do those things," said Sen. Erin May Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, during a February hearing on READ Act implementation. GOP Rep. Patricia Mueller, a teacher of 20 years believes there should be more options for training teachers on the new standards. Right now, there are just three state approved courses. She also wants to make sure future teachers getting their degrees are trained on these standards. Other states with similar laws have this requirement. "They create a certificate or a reading endorsement, so that as teachers are graduating, that they have that superintendents and principals have the assurance that these teachers have been trained in the science of reading, so we don't have to guess, and we don't have to retrain, and we don't have to wonder," Mueller told WCCO. The state budget is tight because of a looming $6 billion deficit in future years, but the House earmarked $40 million in new money for READ Act implementation, providing a boost for districts to pay teachers for that training time, according to initial budget documents. Mueller believes lawmakers can and should make literacy a priority this session. With just days until the session ends, the Legislature is ironing out the details of the next two-year budget agreement and READ Act changes are subject to end-of-session negotiations. "Everyone from right, left center, all of us agree that reading is key and that we need to be doing better at teaching reading," she said.
