Today’s Literacy Headlines

Spurred by education researchers, journalists and policymakers, states and districts are making progress toward greater use of high-quality curriculum and instructional materials. Now it’s up to all of us — educators, advocates and organizations like EdReports — to keep the momentum going and ensure that all students have access to the resources they need to learn and grow.

What does the Institute of Museum and Library Services do? The agency provides financial support to a wide array of cultural and educational institutions, including art, science and history museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens and historic sites. Libraries of all types – public, academic, school and research – also benefit from the agency’s funding. Through grants, research and policy initiatives, the IMLS helps these institutions better serve their communities. In the 2019 fiscal year, for example, the IMLS awarded funds to libraries in Nebraska to support economic development in 30 rural communities. 

Illustrated children’s books that blend instruction and delight appeared, independently of one another, in two thriving commercial cities half a world apart: London and Edo (now Tokyo). In both burgeoning urban centers, ambitious middle-class parents embraced such books as steppingstones on their children’s path to literacy and a better life. Japan’s earliest illustrated storybooks, from the late 1600s, predated the West’s by more than 50 years and were an offshoot of Japan’s venerable printmaking tradition. 

Our new report dug into the research on the benefits of blending these two subjects in elementary school and found that first- and second-graders who received integrated literacy and science instruction retained more reading skills over the summer and performed better, by nearly 8 percentage points, on science-related reading tasks than their peers who did not. By building knowledge through thematic lessons and extensive reading of a broad range of informational texts on various topics, this approach helped students transfer what they learned to new reading challenges. 

Three new episodes of Emily Hanford’s groundbreaking podcast have a lot to teach about following evidence, teacher buy-in, and sticking with what works. The episodes tell the story of Steubenville, Ohio — a gritty steel town-turned-reading powerhouse thanks to a 25-year commitment to Success for All, a research-backed, whole-school reform model Nancy Madden and Bob Slavin began developing as reading researchers at Johns Hopkins in the 1970s. 
 

How well is your school district teaching basic reading? What instruction materials are they using to teach it? Communities now have new tools to help answer that question. Created by the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership [MEEP] and EdTrust, the Massachusetts Early Literacy Dashboard is designed to help parents and caretakers navigate the system and understand what’s happening in their school district. On the site, you can find your district  and then identify literacy score trends and how their reading curriculum stacks up and if the district has invested in improving that curriculum.

In Indian River County, Florida, we’re proving that the right partnership between schools and community organizations can not only help students recover from learning losses, but also actually accelerate achievement. Through a unique collaboration between the School District of Indian River County and The Learning Alliance, the community now ranks 12th in state literacy, up from 31st just four years ago. This dramatic improvement wasn’t magic — it was the result of a systematic, community-wide approach to literacy that could serve as a model for districts nationwide. Its partnership with the school district works because it addresses literacy from multiple angles all in service of one goal — 90% of students reading on grade level by the end of third grade. 

In every class, there’s always that student who finishes at warp speed—requiring you to figure out how to redirect one restless learner while the rest are still mid-task. How can you create flexible routines that keep speed racers engaged without your constant intervention? These extension activities for all grades will help teachers keep fast finishers engaged in meaningful work. The article highlights low-prep and no-prep activities that extend learning beyond busywork.

Writers of historical fiction for children face a unique challenge: taking customs and language of a time very different from the present and making them real, and meaningful, to readers who are submerged in contemporary lingo and have scant knowledge of history. Laurie Halse Anderson, the 2023 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner and author of the Seeds of America trilogy (“Chains,” “Forge” and “Ashes”), is a master of the genre, by virtue of exhaustive research and lively, fast-paced writing. With “Rebellion 1776,” Anderson returns once again to the Revolutionary War era. Set in Boston, the story begins toward the end of Gen. George Washington’s brilliant siege, which enfolds the city into the Patriot cause.

Classroom support strategies are often labeled as “special interventions” and compliance-driven tasks for a select few. But that’s an oversimplification. Tools like speech-to-text, guided notes, and flexible deadlines aren’t optional add-ons and isolated fixes—they’re essential supports that can boost learning for everyone. By shifting away from language and labels that tend to separate students, educators can help eliminate learning-related stigmas. And it helps create an environment where special education and general education teachers are able to collaborate more effectively. Here are a number of strategies that are intended to encourage deeper communication and collaboration between special education and general education teachers, in service of integrating meaningful, inclusive practices into everyday learning.

We teachers are bombarded with “research-backed” this or “evidence-supported” that. Maybe we have the time to read it and maybe we don’t. But what are the questions we should be asking about it? Today’s post is the second in a three-part series (see Part One here) offering a checklist that teachers can use to judge the credibility of the research behind the actions we are being told we should take in the classroom.

The actions of the Trump administration over the last few months could make it vastly more difficult to understand what’s actually happening in schools. Ironically, those worries emerged just as the Association for Education Finance and Policy unveiled a critical new tool: its Live Handbook of education policy research, gathering and distilling the findings of thousands of studies. Its 50 chapters address a bevy of questions ranging from preschool to higher education, including the makeup of local school boards, performance of charters and school vouchers, teacher preparation programs, the effects of education spending, and more. The Association hopes the extensive and growing site, an update of previous printed versions, can provide educators and lawmakers alike with something akin to a Wikipedia for research.

Comprehension strategy instruction has a solid research base. Teacher guides on evidence-based practices from the What Works Clearinghouse recommend teaching students across grade levels how to use these strategies—steps such as monitoring their own understanding as they read, or visualizing what’s happening in a story. Over the past decade, though, another approach has gained traction: using curricula that explicitly builds children’s knowledge about the world through social studies and science content, in attempts to help them unlock more meaning from the texts they’re reading. Research shows that students with more world knowledge understand texts better, though there’s less evidence for the effectiveness of specific curricula. Some experts in the field say schools shouldn’t take an either-or approach.

The DC Reading Clinic has already provided quality structured literacy to over 500 teachers and more trainings are planned, writes Chancellor Ferebee. As the education sector across the country grapples with greater needs and tightening resources, the DC Reading Clinic’s commitment to providing free, high-quality literacy support is both rare and invaluable. The clinic’s success can serve as a model for other cities. By investing in our teachers and most vulnerable readers, DCPS is helping to create a future where every child becomes a fluent, lifelong reader.

The administration has promised that “formula funding” for schools, which is protected by law, would be preserved. That includes flagship programs like Title I for high-poverty schools, and the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), which sends money to rural and low-income schools. But nearly all the statisticians and data experts who work in the office responsible for determining whether schools qualify for that money will soon be out of jobs, making it unclear how such grants would remain intact.

The Evanston Public Library has named The Great Lakes: our Freshwater Treasure, written by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Jamey Christoph, published by Penguin Random House as the winner of the fourth annual Blueberry Awards. The Blueberry Awards honor children’s literature that strengthens kids’ connections with nature and fosters action for the planet.

Student academic performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. Inequality has grown, with students in more affluent school districts largely back to normal — academically at least — and those in high-poverty communities still struggling. With the pivot to remote learning, technology is now everywhere in American schools, but a new digital divide has opened up between those filling out worksheets on Chromebooks and those learning how to use generative AI. Divisions over school closures and COVID safety protocols turned schools into political war zones and fueled the rise of the conservative parents’ rights movement. Here are 10 ways schools have changed in the last five years.

There are many engaging and effective strategies to develop interpersonal skills, and most are easy to incorporate into daily classroom routines. This teacher uses these strategies to directly teach, model, and practice these essential communication skills at a developmentally appropriate level: turn-taking, small group speaking and listening, whole group speaking and listening, and accountable talk.

The program is a unique example of a school that moved quickly to keep children from missing out on their first year of school — a critical transition period in which they typically start developing academic and social skills. At a time when hundreds of thousands of parents struggled to balance work and Zoom, or held their children out of school until first grade, KIPP’s after-hours program offered families some consistency in the midst of turmoil. 

The executive orders (EO) and slashing of federal services have come for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The elimination of the agency would not only be a devastating and possibly fatal blow to state and local public libraries, the loss of the IMLS would negatively impact school libraries. School librarians use IMLS grant programs, such as the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, to provide better services and support for their students, in addition to other efforts. An IMLS grant is currently the funding source of an effort to return school librarians to Philadelphia’s public schools. 

Dr. Amy Murdoch, assistant dean of reading science in the School of Education at Mount St. Joseph University, talks about creating prominent graduate and doctoral programs in the Science of Reading, and the responsibility of training the next generation of early literacy educators. She discusses how she has seen Science of Reading interest escalate, shares her hopes for the future of reading science in schools, and offers advice for those who are new to the Science of Reading and/or exploring an advanced degree rooted in reading science.

The Trump administration has all but axed the U.S. Department of Education’s statistical research arm — the National Center for Education Statistics — sparing only a handful of employees who are left without department staff needed to analyze education data. Now, those caught in the latest wave of the administration’s cuts are warning that their haphazard nature will lead to a decline in the quality of assessments and data overseen by NCES.

A new paper finds “substantial gap persists” between reading comprehension research and practice, calls for greater efforts to prioritize effective instruction methods. Reading comprehension support should be available throughout the school day and across the curriculum, according to assistant professor and study lead Phil Capin. “The Common Core state standards specify that reading comprehension is an important goal in English language arts instruction, but it’s also an important goal in social studies, in science and in math, particularly as it relates to word problems,” he said.

Reading and writing are so intertwined that instruction in one is bound to benefit the other. HIn this video, Dana Robertson, an associate professor of reading and literacy education at Virginia Tech, offers actionable tips for teachers on ways to intentionally incorporate both disciplines into their lessons.

On March 13, Education Week hosted a panel of middle and high school educators who are focused on supporting students who struggle. They discussed how to find the students who need support, what works to catch them up, and how to make time for this instruction during the school day. Read on for four highlights from the conversation, and insights from other upper elementary and middle school educators who spoke with Education Week.

In January and February, New America’s Learning Sciences Exchange (LSX) program and Early and Elementary Education policy program partnered to host a two-part webinar series, helping educators, policymakers, and parents navigate the latest guidance. Researchers, pediatricians, media specialists, and early childhood educators gathered to discuss the evidence and everyday decisions around how technology should be used with children between pre-K and third grade, which types and amounts are appropriate, and whether various forms should be used at all.

Teachers can use these simple strategies to encourage a lifelong love of reading in students: sharing about reading and scheduling reading time and “book shopping” time. As an educator who loves creating a spark in my students’ reading time, I know the importance of building positive reading habits by connecting students to meaningful book choices. Exploring new genres will help build enthusiasm and increase reading engagement for our students, helping to ensure that reading becomes a lifelong habit.

In his new book, “Shift: Managing Your Emotions – So They Don’t Manage You,” neuroscientist Ethan Kross shares the most current research on emotional regulation. He also offers a perspective on the functions of emotion and advises us against suppressing challenging emotions. Instead, he says to notice when their intensity or duration are doing you or your child more harm than good, and continue to gather an array of tools for shifting emotions out of high gear.

In her children’s stories, Clarice Lispector disguised philosophical questions in cheerful, kooky fables about exuberant animals with places to be.

Five years after the pandemic first closed the nation’s schools, national test scores show students backsliding in reading all over the United States. There was one exception: Louisiana. In 2019, Louisiana’s fourth graders ranked 50th in the country for reading. Now, they’ve risen to 16th. According to an even more granular analysis, Louisiana is the only state that has not only made a “full recovery” from the pandemic in both math and reading, but has improved upon its reading scores since 2019. So what’s in Louisiana’s secret sauce? We went to Natchitoches Parish School District to find out: It’s one of Louisiana’s poorest school districts, up against some of the biggest hurdles to student achievement, yet it has managed to quickly grow its reading scores.

The seismic dismissal of employees at the U.S. Department of Education this week represents a “first step” toward abolishing the federal agency, Education Secretary Linda McMahon confirmed. The slashes further diminish the department’s capacity to carry out its key functions of funding and disseminating research, enforcing the nation’s school accountability laws, investigating discrimination claims and bringing schools into compliance with anti-discrimination statutes, and more. Some of the heaviest cuts will hit the department’s research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences—which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress and statistics-gathering and dissemination through the National Center for Education Statistics.

Teaching literacy—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—was long thought of as the job of the English department, and if students weren’t considered proficient, it was that department’s fault. Thankfully, that mindset has changed. It is our responsibility, whether you’re a classroom teacher, a paraprofessional, or an educational assistant, to give all of our students literacy opportunities in every discipline. To begin that process, determine a set of guidelines that outline what you want your students to know and be able to do in terms of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

The U.S. Department of Education is firing almost 1,400 employees raising questions about how the federal government will uphold its obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other laws. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has outlined plans to return control over education to the states. She has proposed moving oversight of IDEA to the Department of Health and Human Services and sending the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which handles complaints of disability discrimination in schools, to the Department of Justice. Disability advocates have been warning that efforts to dismantle the Education Department could have an outsized impact on the nation’s 7.5 million special education students.

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) fosters curiosity, problem-solving, and creativity. While integrating STEAM into your classroom can seem challenging due to tight schedules and budgets, simple hands-on projects can significantly enhance learning. These elementary activities easily integrate into your existing curriculum, boosting students’ creativity and critical thinking without taking up all of your time.

The Education Department announced on Tuesday that it was firing more than 1,300 workers, effectively gutting the agency that manages federal loans for college, tracks student achievement and enforces civil rights laws in schools. The cuts could portend an additional move by Mr. Trump to essentially dismantle the department, as he has said he wants to do, even though it cannot be closed without the approval of Congress.

In an age where screens dominate classrooms and workplaces, handwriting might seem like a relic of the past. But research shows that putting pen to paper plays a crucial role in literacy development. “I can’t talk about handwriting without talking about reading and spelling—they’re integrated. In our brains, the networks are connected,” said Dr. Nancy Cushen White, a language therapist and educator who has worked with students of all ages, including adults, to develop writing skills. Handwriting is more than just a motor skill, White explained. Research shows writing by hand leads to better recognition and understanding of letters. It also improves memory and recall of words.

On March 7, the Swedish residence in New York City opened its doors to librarians and other members of the children’s book community for a gathering in honor of International Women’s Day and the 80th book birthday of the strongest girl in the world: Pippi Longstocking. The event was held in partnership with the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and Astrid Lindgren Company, PEN America, and the Swedish Institute. Children’s literature historian Leonard S. Marcus led a panel on the enduring relevance and resonance of the Pippi Longstocking books.

The solution to low reading scores is a complicated one, requiring focused attention and action. There are still many levers that need to be pulled before we are ALL rowing in the same direction. There are institutions of higher education in which teachers are not learning instructional practices aligned with the research. There are balanced literacy and whole-language instructional resources that dominate the market. While there is legislation, it may be too new, too vague, or lacking accountability to really measure the impact. Leadership, community, targeted funding are all areas which need our attention.

Why are teachers still hunched over laptops, crafting lessons from scratch or scouring Share My Lesson and Teachers Pay Teachers for curriculum materials? The work of Oregon professor Siegfried Engelmann (co-creator of Direct Instruction) illustrates why DIY lesson planning and worshiping to excess at the altar of “student engagement” doesn’t cut it. There are three good reasons that teachers shouldn’t be stuck doing it: they aren’t trained for it, they don’t have time for it, and the task itself—complex and interdependent—demands far more than a single teacher can reasonably deliver, or be expected to:

Theater games and activities make great brain breaks for preschool and elementary students—short tasks or activities that redirect their focus and can help with transitions in the classroom. Theater games and activities use movement, creative expression, and pretend and are perfect for preschool and early elementary students.  

Nearly a half century ago, a landmark study showed that teachers weren’t explicitly teaching reading comprehension. Once children learned how to read words, no one taught them how to make sense of the sentences and paragraphs. Some kids naturally got it. Some didn’t. Since then, reading researchers have come up with many ideas to foster comprehension. Although the research on reading comprehension continues, there’s relatively good evidence for a collection of teaching approaches, from building vocabulary and background knowledge to leading classroom discussions and encouraging children to check for understanding as they read. That should mean substantial progress toward fixing a problem identified decades ago. But a paper published in a 2025 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Studies of Reading shows that hardly any of these evidence-based practices have filtered into the classroom.

Although Arlington, like school districts across the map, saw attendance improve since COVID-19’s early aftermath, it hasn’t achieved full recovery. School libraries and their services play a key role in keeping students engaged and willing to come to school, says Darrell Sampson, executive director of student services for Arlington (VA) Public Schools. For many students, the school library may be their only way to explore new worlds and lives, he adds. Arlington’s libraries continue to allow a space for students to connect with literature and one another. He says the school library provides resources and a safe space that incentivizes some children to make it to class with frequency.

As California considers how best to support literacy improvement, one area we need to get right is approving curriculum materials based on evidence, not convenience. Unfortunately, one of the main resources states rely on for this is EdReports, an independent nonprofit whose evaluations many states and districts turn to when choosing a commercial curriculum. We urge California’s education leaders to do the necessary work: Vet curriculum materials based on the established scientific research on reading instruction. The future of our students’ literacy — and their lifelong learning — depends on it.

Are you an early childhood teacher in search of relationship-building resources to help unify your classroom? Have I got a book list for you! Each story [here] suggests activities as possible road maps to assist early childhood teachers and students with considering collaborative projects in the school, and many of the projects also benefit the greater community outside of the school.

Across Arkansas, countless students urgently need targeted literacy support. According to recent data from the Arkansas Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (ATLAS) platform, 64 percent of 5th graders are not proficient in reading. This literacy crisis demands immediate action. Educators like me need access to teaching toolkits of phonemic awareness activities and differentiated small-group instruction ideas so that we can support students at every stage of reading development. One-time training is not enough; teachers need ongoing support so these interventions are implemented effectively and continuously.

In December 2024, two Massachusetts parents sued Calkins, Fountas and Pinnell, their publishers HMH (formerly Houghton Mifflin) and Greenwood, and the Teachers College Board of Trustees. Unlike previous literacy-related lawsuits that claimed inferior literacy instruction violated students’ state constitutional rights, this lawsuit, Conley v. Calkins, contends that the defendants violated state consumer-protection statutes by fraudulently claiming their programs were supported by research.

How can teachers best use research to help their students? Today’s post is the first in a three-part series designed to walk educators through the process of interpreting research to help us all “sift the wheat from the chaff.” Key takeaways: (1) start with your goals and an assessment of whether current programs are meeting those goals; (2) if the current program is aligned with evidence, consider whether it can be modified or supplemented to achieve goals; and (3) if adopting a new program, ask whether a program would be well-situated in your context.

The responsibility of testing falls on students, school staff, and administration. However, it is important to include parents who can bolster student confidence and increase performance. This can also alleviate stress for students and schools. Here are four ways that schools can ask parents for help during testing season.

In my job as an instructional coach at a K–6 elementary school, it seemed like people would run away when the conversation turned to data. Creating systemic schoolwide systems for collecting and analyzing data to benefit teachers has become one of my primary tasks. These systems are now at the heart of some of the meaningful changes happening in our school for teachers and students. Data can bring hope, especially when it shows we are on the right path to achieving student growth.

Pop quiz: How many times has the federal government fulfilled its original commitment to supply 40 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure to pay for the costs of special education? Answer: Never. In fact, only once—in 2009—has federal funding even exceeded 20 percent, despite a promise in the first version of what is now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to reach 40 percent by 1982.

Contrary to the claim that there’s never been a study, Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking synthesizes a wealth of evidence supporting the role of knowledge in learning. The book argues for a coherent curriculum that systematically builds students’ background knowledge to facilitate deeper understanding and better reading comprehension. This aligns with decades of research in cognitive science demonstrating that comprehension is not a transferable skill but is largely dependent on prior knowledge.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the most famous dyslexic political official in the country, even authoring a children’s book to raise awareness about the learning disability. And yet, California is one of 10 states that doesn’t require dyslexia screening for all children. Education experts agree that early screening and intervention is critical for making sure students can read at grade level. But so far, state officials have done almost everything to combat dyslexia except mandate assessments for all students.

Leonard S. Marcus brings the wonder of a 1968 snapshot to a new generation. “Earthrise” captures the fast-paced drama of America’s competition with the Soviets to reach the moon, as it recounts the hold-your-breath excitement of those pioneering missions. For young people who love engines and technical detail, it maps how rockets, boosters and stages were crafted for each type of flight. For history buffs, it glides, like a Ken Burns documentary, from a specific topic to the temper of the time. 

‘Upon That Isle in Maine’ opened this month at the Maine Maritime Museum, focusing on the maritime-themed books by the Camden author and illustrator. The museum’s staff wanted to build an exhibit focusing on Van Dusen’s maritime-themed books as a way to help highlight how the Maine coast is viewed and how it’s portrayed in books and popular culture, said Chris Timm, the executive director. Van Dusen is among the Maine artists who have helped bring the wonder and beauty of the Maine coast to children all over the world, along with Robert McCloskey, Barbara Cooney and others, Timm said.

Art and music provide powerful tools to enhance literacy skills by bridging abstract concepts with tangible experiences. By integrating these creative disciplines, teachers can help students build stronger connections to story elements, understand narrative structures, and foster imaginative expression.

Amid a deepening national literacy crisis, awareness is growing that far too many California children do not know how to read. The problem is not that our children can’t learn, experts say, but that they are not being taught properly. That’s why California State Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D-48) has introduced a new early literacy bill, AB 1121, to bring evidence-based practices into every classroom in the state. Co-sponsored by EdVoice, Decoding Dyslexia CA and Families In Schools, this bill would ensure that curriculum is aligned with exhaustive scientific research on how the brain learns to read.

Even as “science of reading” mandates sweep across the country, requiring schools to use evidence-based methods for teaching young students how to read, spelling rarely is mentioned in the conversation. Some skeptics of spelling instruction cite the advent of spellcheck technologies, including artificial intelligence, as proof that students no longer need to know how to spell. But literacy experts ardently disagree. “Spelling is a highly accurate window into children’s understanding of language and literacy,” said Molly Ness, a reading researcher and teacher-educator at City University of New York, Brooklyn College. “It’s so predictive of their understanding of how words work and the synchrony of spelling, vocabulary, and word knowledge.”

Studying the lives of mathematicians can help elementary students discover a positive math identity for themselves. Providing students with the opportunity to explore the lives of other mathematicians sparks curiosity, develops perspective, and increases student motivation. When students can see themselves as mathematicians and connect math learning to the real world, their engagement and sense of purpose grow. Linking classroom math with real-world experiences, we help students grasp why their learning matters.

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the U.S. Yet, in the latest NAEP results, the state performed better than it had in 2019, making it one of the rare places to see academic recovery. Louisiana rose in the national rankings of student performance, most notably in fourth-grade reading, where it moved from 42nd in the nation to 16th. Cade Brumley, state superintendent of education, proclaimed that the improved ranking was a reflection of the state’s back-to-basics approach to literacy: Louisiana has undertaken significant literacy reform in recent years, including a 2021 law that requires teacher training in literacy instruction, though a high percentage of teachers have reportedly not received the training. The state has also poured money into tutoring corp programs.

This weekend (Feb. 22 to be exact) marks the centenary of the birth of Edward Gorey, an artist whose work has wielded a ridiculous amount of power over my own art, and even my worldview. He made the uncanny cool for a kid like me, whose dollhouse contained a miniature Ouija board in the child’s room and a ghost made of Kleenex and cotton balls in the attic.