10
The Beacon Fall 2021
INTERSECTING RESEARCH WITH CLASSROOM PRACTICE
School Leaders: The Key to HighQuality Reading Instruction By Danielle Scorrano, Research & Development Director of The Windward Institute
A
push to transform reading instruction is underway in classrooms across the nation… motivated by an honest acknowledgement—most children in the United States struggle to read” (Odegard, 2021). Odegard (2021) retells the dismal reality of the state of education in the United States, highlighted by decades of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showing that about two-thirds of fourth graders are not proficient readers. During its decades of reporting on the stagnant rates of reading proficiency, the NAEP results may reveal only a snapshot of reading education, but they nevertheless illuminate an alarming story. Supporting research and data illustrates that the current system of reading education most negatively impacts the nation’s most vulnerable learners across race, class, and disability status. With preliminary data on reading emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic suggesting further reading decline, it has never been timelier to harness the opportunity to rebuild and broaden a system of reading education for all children. Leaders must collectively enact change. These three action steps integrate principles of the Science of Reading, scientifically-based reading practices, and social entrepreneurship for school-based leaders: (1) Trust the science, follow the data (2) Ensure the infrastructure needed for implementation (3) Leverage education as an enterprise for social entrepreneurship
Trust the Science, Follow the Data Decades of cognitive and behavioral science inform a deep understanding about the reading brain as well as supporting pedagogical methods to build literacy skills. This body of research substantiates what has been defined as the Science of Reading. Solari and colleagues (2020) posit that the Science of Reading establishes: (1) A strong theoretical foundation for the development of the reading brain; (2) An explanation of why and how differences in reading and language acquisition exist; (3) A clear direction to improve reading difficulties and diagnosed disabilities; and (4) Insights to data collection, measurement, and evaluation. Research in early literacy instruction shows the effectiveness of systematic, structured, sequential instruction focused on word-level
reading skills including phonemic awareness, phonics, and alphabetic knowledge (Catts, 2021; Solari et al., 2020). Related studies demonstrate the importance of language comprehension skills, background knowledge, and vocabulary building (Catts & Adlof, 2019). These findings are summarized by seminal frameworks such as the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) and Scarborough’s Reading Rope (Scarborough, 2001). In addition to broadening the understanding of the reading brain and informing best practices for all readers, this body of science distinguishes how to target the needs of students who exhibit difficulties learning to read. Research on early screening and identification of reading disabilities helps to identify students at risk for reading failure.
Research findings in reading will only be most effective when they reach the students and teachers that benefit from the implementation of the science in educational settings. For students with dyslexia, Catts and Hogan (2020) attest that prevention using early screening and intervention is critical. Various studies show that certain neurobiological markers and other risk factors of dyslexia, such as family history, can be identified as early as infancy (Ozernov-Palchik & Gaab, 2016). Hoeft (2021) explains that educators can screen and provide effective early intervention for children in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, citing a drop in 25–50% effectiveness with each year that they wait. Simply put, Hoeft (2021) synthesizes the data, “If there’s science that… tells us that we can identify and remediate children’s risk [of reading difficulties] early with a high accuracy and effectiveness, then why wait?” Leaders must maintain the utmost commitment to trusting the science and data, matched with tactile insight to ensure the adequate infrastructure for school-wide implementation.
