Literacy

Thelma Ramsey-Bryant became principal of John L. Costley Middle School in East Orange, New Jersey, at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. But the global health crisis wasn’t the only hurdle she faced as she began her new role.

Ramsey-Bryant quickly realized that many of her 8th graders needed help with reading fluency and comprehension. Just 14% of students at the school scored at or above the proficient level for reading in the 2021-22 school year. Though that number rose to 21% in 2022-23 and student growth in English Language Arts met state standards, she noted there is still work to be done.

The school’s student population, which has also included 7th graders since 2022, is 52% at-risk, 59% economically disadvantaged, 79% Black and 19% Latino.

“I had a very short window of time to try to help them close some of those gaps so they could be successful at the high school level,” Ramsey-Bryant told K-12 Dive. “At the high school level, you're reading a lot for comprehension, and you're reading a lot to do critical thinking, and those higher-level reading skills are necessary.” 

If you don't have those foundational reading skills down, she said, then it's going to make succeeding in high school and beyond more challenging. We caught up with Ramsey-Bryant to learn more about what is working in her school and how she is overcoming the challenges of making remedial literacy feel age-appropriate for her middle schoolers.

K-12 DIVE: What are the biggest barriers to promoting literacy and reading fluency in the middle school grades?

THELMA RAMSEY-BRYANT: Some of the biggest barriers are our students coming to us with difficulty not so much with reading from a phonetic standpoint, but reading with fluency and comprehension and vocabulary. 

Some of our students have difficulty in those three areas, which makes it hard for them to excel in the various subject areas. Like, you have a certain academic vocabulary for social studies as well as for math as well as for science. And it makes it difficult for them to comprehend across all the different content areas because of that lack of fluency and that lack of vocabulary.

When it comes to getting students who are in those early teen years to embrace what could be seen as remedial work on their foundational reading skills, how do you motivate them to do that?

RAMSEY-BRYANT: Sometimes, people think middle school students will feel embarrassed that they are lacking in some skills. And you do have some students that do feel that way.

We find that sometimes students have behavior issues, and when you get to the root of what the behavior issues are, it's because they have difficulty reading, and they don't want other students to know, so they act out.

We started talking to students about, “We want to help you with your reading, and these are the ways that we're going to do it.” I had a teacher here who was able to reach the students in a way that didn't make it feel like it was baby work. We presented them with things that were on their level, but helped them understand that this was going to make them better readers, and they actually gravitated toward it, and they appreciated it. 

I think it was more so the approach than just bringing students in and saying, “Well, you can't read.” It was very nuanced in the way that we had to approach speaking to the middle school students about helping them become better readers.

What are some of the specific approaches that you've seen that have worked well for that?

RAMSEY-BRYANT: We had to really go back to basics for a lot of our students. That means some work in phonics, phonemic awareness, and beginning spelling. 

If we're talking about the long “a” sound, then students had to spell words that had a long “a” — you know, with the words with “e” at the end. So it may not have been as simple as some of those basic sight words, but we did have to go back to starting to teach students those basic rules of spelling, so that they can improve their pronunciation and their phonemic awareness skills.

It was a lot of foundational work that we had to do.

When it comes to helping classroom educators build a skill set to address this, what are the most important things they can do to help students overcome this gap?

RAMSEY-BRYANT: Sometimes it's difficult at the middle school level — because a lot of times middle school teachers consider themselves content experts, and they only want to deal with their content. If I'm a math teacher, don't talk to me about reading, and if I'm teaching science, I'm not here to teach students how to read. But in order for the students to be able to access the curriculum, they have to have that basic ability to read. With that, we had to do a lot of training within our professional learning communities on some basic foundations of literacy. 

The other thing is that we have to also give our students the opportunity to understand that you read for a purpose. 

Once you start to share that with students in terms of, “OK, today we're reading something, and this is why we're reading it,” you can even relate it to when you read things on your cellphone. Usually when you read things on your cellphone, it's for a purpose — it's for you to get information or send a text or for entertainment. Those are some of the ways that you can start to shape how students understand the reasons why reading is important and literacy is important.

What have been some of the most effective initiatives that you've piloted to help with reading proficiency?

RAMSEY-BRYANT: Some of the most effective interventions have been using class time to pull students into small groups to work with them on some of the deficient skills they may have, and having students read aloud. A lot of times we don't know if students read fluently or not, because we never have them read aloud – especially at the middle school level. And also, trying to encourage students to read outside of school.

Some of the other things that we've done is to work with parents, to have them as partners in reading with their middle school students. A lot of parents do read with their younger students, but they don't think they still need to do that with the middle school students. We've also given parents strategies to work with their children at home. 

And we get some of our middle school students to visit other schools to read to younger students, so they can just get the practice of reading aloud and reading fluently — even if it may be a book that's at a lower level, because all the reading practice helps our students.

You mentioned the connection between behavior and students having trouble. What are some of the things you've noticed on that front as you've rolled out these initiatives?

RAMSEY-BRYANT: Our suspension rate has gone down significantly, our referrals to discipline have gone down significantly, and our attendance rate has improved. So students are feeling more confident about themselves academically.

Schools across the nation are utilizing artificial intelligence bots to teach students how to read. From decoding phonics by sounding out words to guided tutoring, these bots provide 1-to-1 instruction to students and help teachers pinpoint areas for improvement.

In Baltimore County Public Schools, Amira, an AI-powered cartoon avatar, serves as a reading tutor that walks students through activities and records their sessions so teachers can later watch and assess problem areas. Other AI reading tools like Early Bird, Bamboo Learning and Imagine Learning utilize similar assessment techniques. 

While schools view these AI resources as a way to improve reading proficiency gaps, Maryland Reads, a nonprofit focused on improving literacy rates through science of reading initiatives, cautions against increased access to technology, especially in younger grades, because it can negatively impact students' reading development.

On the Amira Learning homepage, Amira, which is also part of Louisiana’s latest efforts to improve reading scores, introduces herself and adds that she “doesn’t replace the tools you’ve invested in — I build a bridge to them.”

This emphasis on AI as a supplemental tool is crucial to scientists at the Educational Testing Service , a global education research organization.

Tenaha O’Reilly, managing principal research scientist at ETS, said this is an approach to calm some educators' reluctance to use AI in the classroom. He insists AI is not meant to replace human interaction.

“It's really critical to engage the teacher — to engage them early, engage them frequently, and hear from the teacher as much as possible,” said O’Reilly.

While AI tools like Amira can help address time constraints and individualize approaches for reading instruction, ETS distinguished presidential appointee Diego Zapata-Rivera recognizes that AI has its challenges as well. For instance, because these tools are based upon large databases that “feed” the information to the bot, there is a risk of unfair or incorrect assessment if the initial data is also biased. 

To address some of these issues, ETS emphasizes the importance of AI literacy. AI literacy allows educators to take advantage of the benefits while being mindful of the space for error, according to Zapata-Rivera. 

AI literacy equips teachers to question and reflect on the results AI tools show them. ETS published guidance that outlines responsible ways to incorporate AI in education assessments. Some of the recommendations include training AI using data that is representative of a diversity of student backgrounds and making AI algorithms understandable and transparent.

AI critics also worry about the accessibility of these programs for marginalized student populations. However, Zapata-Rivera said that if programmed correctly, these technologies can actually help bridge gaps. For example, multilingual learners can benefit from settings within these programs that can either translate texts and questions or rephrase them when a student is struggling to understand.

ETS scientists created their own AI reading tool, Relay Reader. Students listen and read in the app and do an interactive activity while the AI assesses their oral reading skills and presents data on reading accuracy and fluency to teachers. Beata Beigman Klebanov, ETS principal research scientist, highlighted that the application constantly evolves based on teacher feedback.

“The teacher is the one who listens to the students, teaches them all sorts of things, so they can tell us, ‘This doesn't quite look right,’ and we can follow up and investigate and understand,” Beigman Klebanov said.

O’Reilly predicts AI will continue to make its way into classrooms, adding that someday it will be the equivalent of using a calculator in math class. However, he urges schools and administrators to be critical about what AI tools to incorporate in their classrooms. 

“There's a lot of hype about AI, but we have to make sure that it's evaluated,” O’Reilly said. “A lot of big claims are coming, and a lot of these startup companies are pushing stuff out to the schools, and the literature is very young on the actual quality of that.”

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By Generation Ready

In 2022, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted a special administration of the NAEP long-term trend (LTT) reading assessments for age 9 students to examine student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points compared to 2020. This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990. To reverse this trend and get learners on track, Structured Literacy needs to be a driving force in every classroom.

What Is It

Backed by science and strengthened through consistent practice, Structured Literacy is a meticulously crafted blueprint for building confident, capable readers and writers, step by step, skill by skill. Specifically, it’s an evidence-based approach to reading and writing instruction that is explicit, systematic, and comprehensive by emphasizing the foundational literacy skills in a deliberate and methodical way. By breaking down the daunting task of learning into clear, manageable steps, confusion is transformed into clarity and regression into progress.

How It Works

Structured Literacy bridges research and reality, turning the Science of Reading into something teachers can implement with precision and purpose. To become proficient readers, students must have various reading components work together seamlessly, aiding both decoding and comprehension. Key elements like phonemic awareness, phonics, and automaticity are crucial for decoding words quickly and accurately. However, decoding by itself isn’t sufficient — students also need robust language comprehension abilities, such as vocabulary, syntax, background knowledge, and inferencing, to fully grasp and apply what they read.

For teachers to effectively enhance students' ability to read and comprehend a range of texts, focusing on the strands of the reading rope during instruction is essential. Moreover, explicit instruction plays a vital role in learning to read, as it eliminates uncertainty by providing clear, step-by-step guidance that helps students understand both what they are learning and why it matters. This method is especially beneficial for young learners and those facing reading challenges, as it breaks down complex skills — such as decoding words or grasping grammar — into smaller, more manageable parts. Through strategy modeling, structured practice, and immediate feedback, explicit instruction builds students' confidence and proficiency in foundational skills, paving the way for fluent and meaningful reading.

Structured literacy outlines the tools and strategies needed to clearly teach the competencies represented in Scarborough’s Reading Rope:

1. Word Recognition

This strand focuses on the mechanics of reading, including:

• Phonological Awareness: Hearing and identifying sounds in words. For example, children learn to rhyme, break sentences into words, and divide words into syllables. These skills lay the groundwork for decoding unfamiliar words.
• Decoding: Students use their knowledge of letter-sound relationships (phonics) to read words. For example, learning that "c" sounds like /k/ helps them read words like cat. This skill builds accuracy and confidence in reading.
• Sight Recognition: As students practice, they begin recognizing common words instantly, like the or and. This automatic word recognition, known as orthographic mapping, frees up mental energy to focus on understanding the text.

2. Language Comprehension

Decoding words is only part of the process. To truly understand what they read, students need strong language comprehension skills, including:

• Background Knowledge: Familiarity with a topic helps students make sense of new information. For instance, understanding that “branches” can refer to both tree limbs and divisions of government aids comprehension.
• Vocabulary: Knowing the meaning of words is critical for understanding text. The more words students know, the easier it is for them to grasp complex ideas.
• Language Structures: This involves understanding grammar, sentence structure, and how words work together to create meaning. Mastery of these rules helps readers interpret both literal and implied meanings.
• Verbal Reasoning: Students learn to think critically about text, draw inferences, and understand figurative language.
• Literacy Knowledge: This includes understanding how books and written language work, such as recognizing story elements or knowing how to use headings in nonfiction.

Why It Matters

Statistics show that learning gaps in literacy are a nationwide crisis - for example, only 32% of Grade 4 students across the country are reading proficiently. Structured literacy isn’t just a teaching method — it’s a lifeline, a powerful key that unlocks the doors of reading for all students, especially those who struggle to grasp its complexities. Like a master craftsman shaping the foundations of a great structure, this approach meticulously builds both the mechanics of reading — the art of decoding words — and the deeper understanding of language — the symphony of comprehension. The result? Students who don’t just skim texts but immerse themselves in stories, ideas, and knowledge, and become lifelong readers.

Did three renowned literacy specialists — along with their publishers — engage in “deceptive and fraudulent” marketing practices by promoting reading curricula that ignored research on the importance of phonics?

That question is at the heart of a lawsuit seeking class action status filed by two mothers Dec. 4 in Massachusetts Superior Court against Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Also named in the lawsuit are Greenwood Publishing Group, Heinemann Publishing, HMH Education Co., and the board of trustees of Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Citing a 1997 National Reading Panel’s finding that “all credible education and literacy research shows that daily phonics instruction is necessary for literacy success,” the lawsuit alleges that the defendants ignored scientific consensus and “peddled a raft of products and curricula that sought to diminish and even exclude systematic and daily phonics instruction.”

Phonics, the suit claims, were denigrated in this curriculum at worst and “paid mere lip service” at best.

As a result, parents Karrie Conley and Michele Hudak say in the lawsuit that the curricula, which was sold to schools nationwide, led to developmental and emotional injuries for their three children. They also allege financial losses for parents, who had to pay for tutoring and private school tuition to make up for their children's "literacy deficiencies" and educational delays.

In developing, promoting and selling “defective goods and services” to school districts, the three literacy specialists and their instructors violated Massachusetts consumer protection law, according to the lawsuit. 

The plaintiffs are seeking damages from exposure to the “ineffective and harmful products” and compensation for their expenses on tutoring, supplemental materials and other out-of-pocket costs. They are also requesting an order requiring that the defendants provide a free early literacy curriculum that incorporates the science of reading.

Of the three specialists named in the suit, Lucy Calkins — once a trailblazing and revered literacy expert — in particular has come under fire in recent years amid embrace of the science of reading approach to literacy instruction. 

The science of reading instructional strategy emphasizes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. 

In contrast, Calkins’ “Units of Study” curriculum, also known as “balanced literacy,” advised teachers to read aloud from books and guide students to choose “just right” books based on their reading levels and interests. The approach placed more emphasis on identifying details such as theme, characters and plot rather than sounding out words.

In response to growing support for science of reading and phonics-based approaches to literacy, Calkins notably revised her curriculum in 2022 to place greater emphasis on phonics.

Teachers College, where Calkins has been a tenured professor of children’s literature, has distanced itself from her curriculum, closing her Reading and Writing Project in September 2023. At the time, EdSource reported Calkins was on sabbatical and had formed a new company, Mossflower Literacy.

On the other hand, Lesley University, where Fountas is director of the Center for Reading Recovery in the Graduate School of Education, and Ohio State University, where Pinnell is professor emerita in the School of Teaching and Learning, have stood by the two specialists’ curricula, according to APM Reports. 

In 2022, Fountas and Pinnell Literacy issued a fact sheet seeking to address claims made about the two experts’ curricula and its application of tools like phonics.

Representatives for Heinemann and HMH Education could not immediately be reached for comment.

Struggling readers in upper elementary grades and beyond can benefit from decoding instruction to help boost their reading proficiency, including comprehension skills, according to a study released Oct. 30 by two education research organizations.

Without foundational word recognition skills, it can be difficult for struggling older readers to improve their comprehension of grade-level texts, the study by the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund and the Educational Testing Service found.

While basic phonics lessons are crucial in early elementary grades, older students may need continued support with decoding skills as texts get more technical, abstract and complex, said Rebecca Sutherland, co-author of the study and an associate director of research for AERDF's Reading Reimagined program. AERDF is a nonprofit research and development organization focused on pre-K–12 education. 

Early and targeted interventions are critical for helping upper elementary and middle school students understand texts that have increasingly complicated sentences and multisyllabic words, said Sutherland.

A Rand Corp. report published in April found that while 92% of K-1 English teachers said they had included phonics instruction at least three times in their last five lessons, only 61% of grade 2-5 teachers and 25% of grade 6-8 teachers reported the same.

Another study conducted by Rand and AERDF, released in August, found that 40% of grade 3-8 teachers have misconceptions about how students develop word-reading skills. One of those misconceptions is that when students have the proper books and time to engage in the text, students will learn to read on their own.

There's an assumption that once younger students get explicit basic phonics instruction, they'll be able to naturally apply those skills in later grades when they encounter more difficult passages, Sutherland said. But because complex words have different origins, spelling conventions and other features, it's not always easy for older students to apply basic decoding skills to more abstract texts.

The study released in October "is pointing to something that we've been missing in our reading instruction for a long time," Sutherland said.

The decoding threshold

That study refers to the "decoding threshold," which is the benchmark for when students can read text accurately and efficiently. If students are below the threshold, they struggle with reading comprehension on grade-level texts. But instruction in reading comprehension alone is unlikely to help older students progress, Sutherland said.

There has been much attention on science of reading initiatives for younger students over the past few years, with some states putting more focus and resources toward phonics instruction. However, less attention is focused in this area when it comes to older students, Sutherland said.

In 2022, average reading scores for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation's Report Card, declined for both literary and informational texts at both grades 4 and 8 when compared to 2019 results.

The AERDF-ETS study is a follow-up to research released in 2019, both of which used assessment data from ETS-developed tests. The 2019 study included assessment data from 40,000 to 50,000 students, while the new study analyzed data collected from 167,403 students between 2020 and 2022.

The most recent study found that students with poor decoding skills spent less time than their peers when they came across a word they did not know — a lack of effort in deciphering unfamiliar words.

Sutherland said two different instructional programs are being developed — one at State University of New York, Buffalo and another at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville — that aim to support universal upper elementary and middle school reading skills through publicly accessible self-led teacher training.

Sutherland said that "longstanding neglect of explicit instructional support" for decoding in upper elementary and middle schools is the result of "a collective blind spot in the field" and a "failure among literacy researchers and practitioners to recognize that there’s more to decoding complex text than the basic decoding skills taught in early elementary grades."

"Basic 1st and 2nd grade decoding skills aren't going to be predictive of whether an 8th grader is reading proficiently," Sutherland said.

Maryland Reads, a nonprofit focused on improving literacy rates through science of reading initiatives in the state, is raising concerns that digital devices are impeding students' ability to read and to think critically.

In a blog posted Sept. 18, the organization recommends the development of a new framework for reading instruction that takes into consideration the use of technology in teaching and learning and how to navigate challenges related to it. It also advocates for broader conversations about the impact of technology on students' reading and learning development.

"While the impact of the digital era on mental health and academic distractions is well-known, we must also consider how technology affects students’ cognitive capacities," said Trish Brennan-Gac, executive director of Maryland Reads, in a Sept. 19 statement.

Maryland Reads has partnered with the Albert Shanker Institute, a nonprofit research organization, to begin to address technology's influence on reading development. The organizations said habits developed from using digital devices for reading — such as skimming and scanning to understand the volume of information presented on screens — can carry over to print reading, impairing the ability to engage in slower and more reflective reading.

Maryland education officials — like those in many state education agencies across the U.S. — are putting more resources and attention into improving literacy rates through science of reading approaches that emphasize individual sounds in words, and how letters and groups of letters fit together to make words. Other key science of reading components include fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

The Maryland State Board of Education is crafting a comprehensive K-3 literacy policy that emphasizes instructional equity to spur increased literacy rates. The state also aims to rank in the top 10 states in 4th and 8th grade reading performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress by 2027. 

Maryland's average 4th grade reading score on NAEP in 2022 fell below 19 other states and jurisdictions, according to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. The average NAEP score in 2022 for the state's 8th graders was lower than those in seven states or jurisdictions.

Carey Wright, who officially started as Maryland's state superintendent in July, has made science of reading a core initiative for the state. Wright is credited with improved literacy rates in Mississippi when she was state superintendent there. 

Recently, several states and local districts have put more restrictions on student cellphone and digital device use during the school day. Proponents of limiting screen time say the devices are distracting students from academic work and face-to-face social interactions. They also cite concerns about students' unhealthy social media use. Some parents and disability rights advocates, however, are pushing back on technology restrictions.

Over half of Ohio’s lowest-performing districts in reading proficiency of 3rd graders will need to change their curriculum to come in line with new state standards on the science of reading, according to an analysis by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 

In the 2022-23 school year, 34 of those 60 districts used curricula either not aligned or only partially aligned with the state’s latest literacy reforms.

In May, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce approved instructional materials aligned with the updated standards approved last year. The new materials are to be implemented by the 2024-25 school year. 

For this upcoming year, the districts and charter schools using unaligned curriculum received more state funds for new materials, according to Fordham, a nonprofit education policy think tank. 

In fact, most of the state’s $64 million designated for instructional materials went to districts needing to make major curriculum changes in reading. Districts that were using nonaligned materials in 2022-23 received an average of $121 in state funds per pre-K-5 student. Meanwhile, districts already using approved curriculum got $37 per student.

With two out of every five Ohio 3rd graders unable to read proficiently, schools in the state are now required to follow the science of reading by the 2024-25 school year per Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget plan approved by legislators in July 2023.

To help Ohio schools make the transition, lawmakers allocated $169 million to implement the literacy approach, which focuses on phonics to help students decode words and learn vocabulary content for better reading comprehension. Those state funds were budgeted for instructional materials, professional development and literacy coaching. 

The state plan also banned curriculum promoting three-cueing, which prompts students to guess words using three types of cues rather than sounding them out.

One-third of traditional Ohio districts are already following the new state requirements, Fordham said. Urban school districts were the most likely to do so, at 42%, while suburban districts and charters were the least likely, at 23% and 28%, respectively.

“Ohio has wisely kept notoriously weak ELA [English language arts] curricula off of its state-approved list,” the Fordham report said.

As of May, the approved list by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce included programs such as “Core Knowledge Language Arts,” “EL Education,” and “Wit & Wisdom,” Fordham found. The state agency also excluded programs dubbed less effective by Fordham that promoted three-cueing, like Fountas & Pinnell’s “Classroom” and Lucy Calkins’ “Units of Study.”

Ohio’s literacy curriculum reform comes as other states are leaning into investing more in scientifically based reading instruction as well. 

Oregon, for instance, has invested millions of dollars into adjusting curriculum to better align with the science of reading. More than 250 schools throughout the state are using a total of $90 million in state grants for this effort. 

As of January, 12 states including Florida, Virginia and Colorado had strong policies for building teacher capacity to implement the science of reading, according to a report from the National Council on Teacher Quality. On the flip side, NCTQ said 19 states lacked strong policies to support effective reading lessons.

More than 250 schools throughout Oregon are using a total of $90 million in grants to adjust curriculum and support teacher training in line with the science of reading approach to literacy education.

The effort is part of the Early Literacy Success Initiative, which passed the Oregon Legislature in June 2023 and provides funding for the adoption of literacy strategies “that are developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and grounded in the science of reading and writing,” said Angelica Cruz, director of literacy at the Oregon Department of Education.

“Since the Early Literacy Success Initiative passed, every eligible charter and district has applied for the School District Grants” — which support comprehensive early literacy plans — “and 100% of the year one funding has been disbursed to approved applicants,” Cruz said.

While the science of reading is often compared to, or thought of, as a pure adoption of phonics, Cruz said there is much more to Oregon’s literacy initiative than a single approach. To start, there are four different components to the effort: the Early Literacy Success School District Grants, the Early Literacy Success Community Grants, the Early Literacy Success Tribal Grants, and the Birth through Five Literacy Plan.

“Oregon’s approach certainly has a strong focus on high-quality curriculum aligned to the science of reading but is inclusive of other elements of literacy instruction, as well,” Cruz said.

To ensure schools have this approach threaded throughout their curriculum, they are permitted to spend grant funding — and are — on professional development and coaching. Other areas of focus include what Cruz refers to as “small school library revitalization” and ensuring instructional practices are inclusive of all students, with particular attention on historically marginalized students, “who have been most marginalized when it comes to literacy instruction,” Cruz said.

“Together, these initiatives have built a vision with coordinated capacity and dedicated funding for strengthening literacy instruction in classrooms and communities across Oregon,” Cruz said.