White Paper
The Science of Reading
Teaching children to read is not easy, and teachers need the most evidence-based and effective tools at their disposal to make sure they are successful. The Science of Reading white paper goes in-depth to discuss offers the most proven strategies. Teachers empowered with brain-based reading knowledge can tailor instruction to maximize each student's potential.
Get the full white paper
Free · Add your details & we'll email it to you.
What you'll learn
- Why reading is not acquired naturally the way speech is, and what that means for how it has to be taught
- The major models of reading development, and what each explains that the others don't
- Five common assumptions about reading instruction that the evidence contradicts, including three-cueing
- The National Reading Panel's five pillars, and the research supporting each
- Which strategies follow from the evidence: early phonics, explicit instruction, multisensory approaches
- What the dyslexia prevalence and equity data say about who current methods are failing
- Steps schools and educators can take without waiting for a curriculum adoption cycle
What this paper covers
Roughly two-thirds of fourth graders in the United States are not reading at grade level. This paper argues that figure is a consequence of instructional method rather than student capacity, and that reading, unlike speech, is not a skill the brain acquires naturally. It has to be taught explicitly and systematically.
From there it does two things. It sets out what the cognitive science says, working through the major models of reading development — the Simple View, the Rope Model, DRIVE, the Active View, the Socio-Active View — so the reader understands the mechanism rather than a list of tactics. And it takes on five widespread assumptions about reading instruction directly, including three-cueing and the balanced literacy practices built on it, and explains what the evidence says instead.
The constructive half is the National Reading Panel's five pillars — phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension — with the research behind each, followed by specific strategies: early phonics, explicit instruction, and multisensory approaches. It closes on what schools and educators can actually change.
Who this paper's for
School administrators, special education leaders, reading specialists and classroom educators.
World-class providers — unparalleled care
Dr. Jordan Wright
Chief Clinical Officer, Parallel
ABAP, ABPP Board-Certified
Our Assessments
Gold standard assessment batteries using the most widely-accepted psychological and educational tests to help figure out how each specific brain works.
Our Partners
