What is the ‘science of reading’?

News Summary  _____________________________________________

A group of employees from the Iowa Reading Research Center recently delivered a presentation to lawmakers in Iowa. The aim of the presentation was to discuss the strategies and curriculum being implemented in Iowa schools to enhance reading proficiency among students in grades K-12. During the presentation, the employees emphasized the significance of teaching word recognition and language comprehension as crucial components of developing literacy skills. These teaching methods, collectively known as the “science of reading,” have a strong foundation in both educational research and brain science, making them highly effective.
In her State of the State address, Governor Kim Reynolds highlighted these education techniques and expressed her commitment to investing in improving reading proficiency for students in Iowa. This discussion comes in the wake of the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, which revealed that a significant number of third-graders in the state were not yet proficient in English Language Art skills.

Iowa lawmakers hear presentation on school program highlighted by Reynolds

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
January 17, 2024
/This article first published by Iowa Capital Dispatch/

Employees with the Iowa Reading Research Center, meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday, laid out strategies and curriculum being used in Iowa schools to improve reading proficiency for K-12 students.

In particular, presenters at a Senate Education Committee meeting told lawmakers about the “science of reading” – methods used to help teach young students language and reading comprehension. They said the methods were based on decades of research in education and other fields like brain science.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds highlighted these education techniques in her Condition of the State address at the beginning of the legislative session last week. She said one of her goals for the upcoming session was to invest in improving reading proficiency for Iowa students.

Nina Lorimer-Easley, assistant director for education and outreach with the research center, told committee members that this method was not a fad, an ideology, or a political agenda.

“What the science of reading is, is a vast body of scientifically based research about reading issues, who struggles with reading, why they struggle, what we can do about why people are struggling, the best ways to teach reading,” she said.

The simple explanation to this strategy, she said, is outlined simply as “word recognition times language comprehension equals reading comprehension.” This means that teaching children how to recognize words, and what those words mean – and how to figure out what new words mean – is the best way to build literacy skills. Many of these strategies are already a part of the state’s existing Early Literacy Implementation, she said.

“A lot of what we talked about in the science of reading aligns with those things that were laid out in ELI quite some time ago,” Lorimer-Easley said. “So it’s just bringing that to the next level, and making sure that every educator in the state of Iowa is aware of this.”

The discussion of these teaching methods come after Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress results from the 2022-2023 school year found 34% of third-graders were not yet proficient in English Language Art skills, while 56% were proficient and 10% were advanced. Multiple studies have found that students who are not able to read by third grade face much greater challenges in future academic success and beyond.

The governor said in her address that while Iowa’s scores are higher than many other states, “something is clearly not working.”

“Nationally, our reading scores have held steady over the last few years because, unlike so many states, we kept our kids in school throughout the pandemic,” Reynolds said. “But holding steady isn’t good enough, especially when reading is the foundation of learning.”

Reynolds has called for multiple initiatives to improve reading abilities for young Iowa students, as well as new requirements for teachers to use the “science of reading” teaching methods. Her priorities for the 2024 legislative session include requiring Iowa teacher licensure candidates in early childhood, elementary, K-12 reading and literacy preparation as well as special education programs pass the Foundations of Reading assessment to graduate, and investing $3.1 million for current teachers to take and pass the same test within the next three years.

Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, said he had concerns that the “science of reading” approach minimized the importance of teaching phonics in reading. He said that as the father of three children, he relied on teaching phonics to help his children learn to read before they entered the K-12 school system.

“In my opinion, phonics is the best way to teach reading,” Garrett said. “And I’m not going to say (it’s) the only way, but it always concerns me when I see a lot of stuff like this. And it just seems to me you’re deemphasizing phonics, and I think that’s not a good idea.”

Lorimer-Easley said phonics is a “cornerstone” of the teaching strategy, but it is not the only component in the teaching method.

“Oftentimes, when we talk about a solely phonics approach, it gets perceived that until after third grade, we’re just reading, you know, ‘Tom and Pat fell on the hill,’ and that’s not the case,” she said, saying that comprehension of words and understanding of content in fields from social studies to science is also important to teaching students how to read.

Iowa is not the only state to look at changing its reading education requirements. According to reporting by Education Week, 32 states as well as the District of Columbia have passed laws or implemented policies related to evidence-based reading instruction between 2013 and 2023.

Many of these changes followed the increase in reading scores that Mississippi students in grades K-3 saw in national assessments following a system overhaul to focus on the “science of reading” strategies. The change was credited for the state’s move from the second-lowest ranked state for fourth-grade reading scores in 2013 to 21st in 2022.

Another component of the proposed shift in Iowa’s reading education strategies focuses on struggling students. The governor’s priorities include plans to require personalized reading plans for students deemed not proficient in reading by third grade through sixth grade. The governor also proposed having school districts give parents of students who aren’t reading proficient in third grade the option to hold their children back a year to improve outcomes.

Lawmakers asked the speakers about the assistance provided to struggling students. The research center works with Iowa’s nine Area Education Agencies providing special education services to students. Ben Walizer, interim director of operations and project management for the center, said the Iowa Reading Research Center partners with AEAs to provide support for students with special educational needs. The research center, which formerly had a larger focus on dyslexia, has worked with training at least one staff member at each agency as a dyslexia specialist.

Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, asked about funding for dyslexia instructors in Iowa. Walizer said he did not have numbers on the funding on hand but that the state appropriates money toward providing dyslexia-specific instruction programs and endorsements for Iowa educators.

Reynolds announced plans to allow school districts to pursue contracts with private companies or partner with other school districts to provide the specialized support required for students with disabilities. Under current state law, Iowa’s AEAs are required to provide these services.

Walizer said that in the present framework, AEAs partner with the center to provide support to school districts making changes to their literacy programs

“When we go into a partnership with the district, we assume that it’s going to be a partnership that’s going to take a year or longer,” he said. “And we can be at the table to do that, to a point, until we have to move on to another district. So the AEA is really a long-term partner in the project or process for us.”

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