In the late 1980s and into the ’90s, TV commercials for Hooked on Phonics were hard to miss. Though the method for teaching kids to read has largely fallen out of fashion, a new approach that draws on some of its tennents is showing promise across the country.
The increased adoption of the new curriculum, called the science of reading, comes as the latest iteration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ report found that only about 1 in 3 fourth graders are reading at or above their grade level.
Per a 2023 report from Stanford researchers, the science of reading is “a process by which the sequential emphasis of five pillars — phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension — can improve overall literacy by building understanding of sounds, letters, words, sentences, and eventually paragraphs step-by-step.”
“It was a big shift in my teaching, in my understanding of how students learn to read,” New York City first grade teacher Melissa Jones-Diaz told CBS News.
That shift in understanding may be due to past reliance on more traditional classroom approaches that have focused on engaging students in the joy of reading rather than strictly the mechanics. Many of these educators argue that the “whole language” method makes more sense by allowing kids to learn through exposure and enjoyment, the Los Angeles Times reports.
But while the science of reading may seem less intuitive than former methods, the aforementioned report from Stanford researchers determined an improvement, albeit a modest one: Two years of implementing the science of reading resulted in the equivalent of an extra quarter of instruction.
Though a wealth of research hasn’t been conducted to definitely deem one reading method superior to others, lawmakers are in agreement with many parents that it will prove beneficial to students.
Per CBS, laws or rules requiring that the science of reading be used in schools have been implemented in Washington D.C. and 39 states, including Ohio and Oklahoma.
And even teachers for whom the practice first felt foreign are learning to embrace it.
“When I first started teaching, I really was more interested in the whole-language model that builds students’ love of reading first and grammar/phonics later,” one Los Angeles teacher told the Times. “This is how I learned, but I think it doesn’t work for 95% of kids, in my experience.”
Because the changes are still relatively new, there is much to be worked out about which ways of implementing the system will be most helpful for kids.
“It’s not just about phonics, right? There’s so much more to teaching reading that I worry that things will be not only too reductive, being just phonics, but then also that things do get taken a bit too far,” said Jason Borges, who is overseeing New York City’s new reading program. But one thing is certain: “What we were doing was not working.”
Meanwhile, other methods to help children read are being trialed as well. For example, the Iowa Department of Education just rolled out an AI reading tutoring program — also grounded in the science of reading — that’s available to all elementary school students (and teachers) for free. The technology is based on decades of research out of Carnegie Mellon University.
“Grounded in the science of reading, EPS Reading Assistant uses voice recognition technology, delivering in-the-moment tutoring, including corrective feedback and support to build essential reading skills,” the department said in the news release. “As students read aloud, a digital avatar named Amira listens, assesses, and intervenes when a student struggles.”
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