The science of reading (SOR) has been one of education’s hottest topics in recent years, with 40 states and the District of Columbia enacting SOR legislation. Yet, as reformers know, and as Fordham’s ongoing Wonkathon highlights, laws alone don’t guarantee meaningful change in classrooms. A recent RAND study by researchers Anna Shapiro and Laura Bellows examines how specific policies have impacted elementary teachers’ instructional practices.
SOR legislation spans a range of topics that vary from state to state. For this study, the researchers focused on three policy areas: curriculum and instructional materials, preservice training, and professional learning. Drawing on a nationally representative K–5 teacher survey from spring 2024 (N=1,880), Shapiro and Bellows explored questions about the number of K–2 teachers who use curricula aligned to SOR’s foundational reading standards, strategies teachers use to help students read unfamiliar words, and the pre- and in-service training that teachers receive on foundational reading skills.
Researchers used EdReports’ English language arts (ELA) reviews to create a list of SOR-aligned materials. The survey asked teachers to indicate which of these they used and how often they used them. In response, a majority of K–2 teachers reported using at least one ELA material (such as a textbook, online material, or curriculum) that meets expectations for each of the five SOR-backed foundational reading skills (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension). However, teachers also reported regularly using materials that do not meet standards, and fewer than one-third relied exclusively on high-quality options. Perhaps most notably, teachers’ use of aligned items did not differ based on whether their state had a SOR law with an approved list of resources.
Although reading laws did not have a significant impact on curriculum and materials, teachers in states with policies related to SOR professional learning were more likely to report using methods aligned with foundational reading skills. For example, of K–2 teachers who received training, 69 percent indicated that helping a student decode a word would be their primary strategy, while only 4 percent said they would suggest using context clues first. Overall, teachers whose training emphasized phonics were more likely to feel prepared to teach SOR-aligned foundational reading skills. In fact, three-quarters of teachers reported that their professional learning helped prepare them to teach these skills.
Another encouraging finding was that many teachers are indeed participating in SOR-related professional learning. The study found that nearly three-quarters of K–2 teachers and two-thirds of teachers in grades 3–5 received professional learning on aligned practices. Among all elementary teachers, more than 90 percent took preservice courses on teaching the five foundational reading skills. Interestingly, however, only 47 percent identified preservice training as their primary knowledge source. Instead, they reported relying primarily on in-service professional learning and classroom experience for knowledge on teaching SOR skills.
These findings offer important insight into what is happening at the classroom level, as well as the components of SOR legislation that are most likely to drive changes in teacher behavior. Perhaps most interestingly, the findings reveal that teacher training is likely a stronger mechanism for influencing teaching methods than curriculum. While professional development is often a costly investment for states and districts, the dollars spent there may very well be worth it—at least when it comes to effective reading instruction.
Still, the findings leave readers with unanswered questions. For instance, the study concluded that teachers in states with SOR legislation are not consistently more likely to use SOR-aligned practices. This could be because of the sequences of laws and policies (e.g., several specific SOR policies implemented simultaneously might be more impactful), the resources allocated to implementation, or the overall political messaging and push behind the reforms. More research is therefore needed on how to help these laws live up to their potential.
SOURCE: Anna Shapiro and Laura Bellows, “Translating Reading Science into Practice—Foundational Reading Instruction in Public Elementary Schools: Findings from the Spring 2024 American Instructional Resources Survey,” RAND Corporation (April 2025).
