The following series addressing the “science of reading” movement will appear in English Journal from spring into fall: We Teach English in Times of Perpetual Crisis. These will be open access and added below when published: Thomas, P.L. (2024, March). We teach English in times of perpetual crisis: The long (and tedious) history of reading ..read more

[Reposted by permission from NEPC] What’s scientific about the “science of reading?” Not much, according to NEPC Fellow Elena Aydarova of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as explained in a recent article published in the peer-refereed Harvard Educational Review. In fact, she warns that legislators are using science-of-reading legislation to distract from more serious approaches to addressing students ..read more

Linked in her article for The Conversation is Sally Riordan’s “Improving teaching quality to compensate for socio-economic disadvantages: A study of research dissemination across secondary schools in England.” This analysis is another powerful cautionary tale about education reform, notably the “science of reading” (SOR) movement sweeping across the US, mostly unchecked. As I do a ..read more

[Note: Follow links to research cited and note the recommended links after the republished article.] Sally Riordan, UCL Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research, UCL 2 April 2024 Evidence is obviously a good thing. We take it for granted that evidence from research can help solve the post-lockdown crises in ..read more

Fact-checking the Science of Reading, Rob Tierney and P David Pearson Rob Tierney and P David Pearson explore the validity of claims associated with the Science of Reading as they have appeared in social media, the popular press, and academic works. The book offers a comprehensive review of these claims—analyzing the evidence, reasoning, assumptions, and ..read more

[Header Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash] Regardless of your level of optimism, there simply is no other conclusion to draw from over forty years of educational crisis and reform: Education reform has almost nothing to do with improving education for students, but education reform has become an industry. And one of the most powerful engines driving the ..read more

Along with Decoding Dyslexia, The Reading League is likely the largest advocacy group for the “science of reading” (SOR). As I have detailed, however, there is a serious problem with the “science” in their advocacy. Let me remind you of the standards for “science” that The Reading League has proposed: Now, consider the following: The ..read more

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For those of us of a certain age, well before the era of trending on social media, a simple ad for Wendy’s prompted the catch phrase “Where’s the beef?” The ad made Clara Peller a star in her 80s, and it certainly helped create a national distinction among fast-food hamburger restaurants in the US. On ..read more

Before the close reading below, let me offer several examples for context concerning how media have weaponized “science” resulting in misguided and even harmful reading legislation. First, here is an example of a journalist posting an article by a journalist praising a journalist. What is missing? Actual research, evidence, or science. Gottlieb’s article, oddly, repeats ..read more