After all, it was 26 years ago this spring that the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development issued its National Reading Panel report, which made the case for the science of reading and emphasized the need for explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and systematic phonics instruction.
Those recommendations were the foundation of the Bush administration’s Reading First initiative, which sought to ensure that K–3 reading materials and instruction were science-based. Launched with high hopes, the $6 billion effort was soon undone by operational headaches. It flopped so badly and was memory-holed so efficiently that many who’ve embraced today’s “science of reading” charge aren’t even aware that they’re retracing the footsteps of their Bush-era predecessors.
What went wrong with Reading First? Pretty much everything. The machinery to evaluate instructional materials was rickety. Reading First deputized reading labs at three universities to vet materials, a structure ill-equipped to fend off vendor-supplied junk science. When officials at the U.S. Department of Education sought to deal with the result, they stumbled into allegations of misconduct and favoritism. Oh, and vendors proved adept at repackaging the same old materials and trainings as suddenly consistent with the new requirements.
The result was an ambitious push to overhaul reading instruction that ultimately delivered underwhelmingresults. With much of the nation gearing up to take the science of reading for another spin, it’s worth asking how states can increase the odds that the result will be more Mississippi than meh.
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1998! Money and school performance.
A.B.T.: “Ain’t been taught.”
8,897 (!) Madison 4k to 3rd grade students scored lower than 75% of the students in the national comparison group during the 2024-2025 school year.
Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $26,000 per student) K-12 tax & spending practices. This, despite long term, disastrous reading results.
Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability
The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?
Legislative Letter to Jill Underly on Wisconsin Literacy