Why is it so hard to find out how a school teaches reading?
How do you know if your school will actually teach your child to read, Part 2
If you missed it, go back and read the first post for some context on how reading instruction is evolving and our nation’s challenges with reading.
So you know you want your school to teach your child to read. A recent poll shows that K-5 parents believe reading is the most important subject for their child’s education.
Perhaps you go on a tour of a school near your home. The school leader shows you the gym and the cafeteria, then leads you down a hallway where you have the chance to hover in the doorway of a classroom or two and see children on a carpet, or at desks or tables. Some children are with a teacher in a small group. Others are on laptops, still others are doing a worksheet. “Are they learning to read?” you wonder. You feel a sinking feeling. It’s just so hard to tell.
You ask, “How do you teach children to read?” You get a response such as:
“We teach according to the science of reading.”
OK, great! But wait — what do they actually teach?
You ask again, “No really, HOW do you teach children to read?”
“We use….” a set curriculum — or more than one!
I toured a handful of public and private schools in spring 2023 and fall 2024, and most school leaders ultimately — often after first demurring — named specific curricula or textbooks. Most did note that they taught phonics. Sometimes, they said they were using two, to make sure they hit upon all of those “science of reading” components. Is two better than one?
And how is a parent supposed to know if the curriculum is aligned with the science of reading? Education wonks know that EdReports evaluates curricula and has been very influential for school districts — but the audience is very much those seeking to buy these products, not parents. Will a curriculum rated “partially meets” on “usability” not teach my kid to read? What if the curriculum is rated “partially meets” on alignment? Where is the rubric for parents that explains what all this means?
And what if your district — as is the case with the one where my kindergartner attend school — is using more than one? Is it coherent? Do the teachers understand it? Can they explain the approach to parents?
In place of clarity, parents look for clues
Ultimately, parents are left to guess whether a school will teach their child to read based on clues from what they observe or can glean from teachers and school leaders.
Some schools I toured gave indications that even if they had adopted a curriculum that had a focus on phonics, they were not all in on it. Two schools I visited said they used running reading records — a hallmark of an approach typically not considered aligned with the science of reading. One school was still using letter ratings for students’ literacy levels (based on a program not considered to be based on the science of reading). Another school had a sign up reminding students to…. you guessed it — guess at the word based on context clues. That’s a flashing red light signal for a parent who has read about the hazards of “three cueing.”
What if the school seems to use the buzz words of the science of reading, such as “phonemic awareness” and “decodable readers”? Surely you are in the clear then.
Perhaps not. What if the school using a basal curriculum, such as Into Reading, which was the top choice of New York City principals as they shift away from “balanced literacy.” These types of curricula seem to be an all-you-can-eat-buffet —the curriculum that has it all, but teachers can’t get through it all. That leaves a lot of room for teachers to make judgements about where to focus, and it may still use some practices that may not be helpful, such as leveled readers.
In New York City, there is also a separate phonics program in use; that’s the case in the district my child attends, as well. How are teachers and school leaders ensuring that the most important pieces from one or more of the curricula are used? There may be a lack of coherence that could impact students’ learning. Not to mention that it is very hard to explain to parents.
What about tests?
OK, so it’s tough to find out about what the school is doing exactly. But perhaps we can just check to see if it is working or not.
A savvy parent might think to look for test scores to find out. How is the school or district doing in teaching kids to read? Do they give an assessment that would indicate something about the school’s impact on students’ learning?
Unfortunately, while many schools may administer assessments such as DIBELS, the results are typically not shared publicly, even for public schools. K-2 students do not benefit from state assessments being posted publicly in reading and math, as this only applies to grade 3 and higher. Is this school or district better or worse than another school or district? It’s impossible to say, at least with the information parents have access to. Parents hear rumors that a school is “doing well” or “did poorly last year,” but they have no concrete evidence.
Parents know what they see
Ultimately, a parent is forced to look for clues. A parent might find those red flags above based on what a child shares, or observation, and have the uneasy sense that this school will not be a place that is going to effectively implement evidence-based practices. Or a parent may not have much to go on at all.
In mathematics, schools often send a workbook home for practice. (I won’t venture into the fun of the new, new math, at least not today.) But for literacy, parents may not see much behind the curtain of what the children are supposed to be focused on at any point in the year. Early elementary grade homework for literacy often entails asking parents to read to children. It doesn’t provide any clues as to what students are learning day-to-day.
For my kindergartener, I will note that while the school does seem to use some evidence-based practices, I have not been asked to practice any phonics at home. The sheets sent home are always sight words. Is that science of reading? What should I be looking to reinforce for my child — and is it the right place to focus? There are more questions than answers.
While parents report being informed of children’s progress, polling indicates that more than half of parents do not speak directly with a teacher more than a few times a year. Without proactive communication during the course of the year about how the curriculum or curricula work, what the approach is, and the progress being made, even the parent of a child whose school is taking an evidence-based approach may still have no idea that evidence-based practices are in use. Nor will that parent be able to reinforce those practices.
The Dial of Literacy
For parents, it seems to be a case of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Literacy. Parents face a long hunt for something that could change the course of history, by allowing more children to read and be prepared to achieve their dreams in life. But the path to find it is a lot less fun to experience than Indy’s adventures.
Image generated by Open Art
Perhaps this search would be easier for parents who have in-depth experience with literacy. A real life Indiana Jones, if you will. But a friend who is a kindergarten teacher looking at school options for her child said, “I found myself having to do way more guessing and reading between the lines than I should have — and still not finding may options that actually seem to know what they’re doing.”
The search for evidence-based literacy practices continues. In the third part of this series, I will propose some changes that would help parents understand how a current or prospective school is teaching reading, and whether it is working.