Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2025 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What needs to happen next—at the state, district, and school levels—for the science of reading revolution to fulfill its promise and ensure that far more children learn to read well?” Learn more.
Over the past few years, more than forty states have passed laws requiring that literacy instruction align with the science of reading. These policies represent a major step toward ensuring that all students receive the evidence-based instruction they deserve. But legislation alone does not teach a child to read.
The success of this movement depends on what happens after the bills are signed and how we prepare and support the educators who make the learning happen. At KIPP, we have seen that when teachers, principals, and regional leaders receive sustained, high-quality professional learning and coaching, the promise of the science of reading becomes a reality for students.
Building a system that invests in every educator
Most teachers did not learn to teach reading using science of reading approaches, so we cannot expect them to make this shift on their own. They need the time, coaching, and community to master new techniques, and they deserve systems that make that possible. When educators are given the opportunity to deepen their expertise, they meet the challenge with the same curiosity and dedication they bring to their students every day.
At KIPP, every K–2 teacher participates in LETRS training, a rigorous course that grounds instruction in the research on how children learn to decode, comprehend, and make meaning from text. But we know that learning about the science of reading is not the same as teaching it.
Our teachers also receive in-classroom coaching from their principals, assistant principals, and regional literacy leads. Coaches observe and model instruction and provide feedback rooted in student work. The KIPP Foundation deepens this support by sending literacy experts to our schools regularly to coach the coaches—observing classrooms, joining feedback sessions, reviewing data, and helping leaders refine how they support their teachers.
Regional literacy leads also engage in a national community of practice, collaborating with counterparts from across the country to share strategies, work through challenges, and strengthen their leadership. This layered system builds capacity at every level: teachers grow through classroom coaching, leaders grow through Foundation support, and regional experts grow through national collaboration. Together, they form an ecosystem where adult learning drives student learning.
Evidence of progress
The results of this effort are clear. At the end of the 2024–25 school year, 75 percent of KIPP kindergarteners met or exceeded literacy benchmarks on DIBELS assessments, surpassing the national average of 67 percent. KIPP students in every elementary grade outgained their peers nationally. We’re seeing promising growth on state ELA exams as well, with the benefits of this multi-year effort starting to show up among students in the upper elementary grades.
In Nashville, for example, KIPP educators have spent several years implementing science of reading-aligned instruction, and the results show the impact. Eighty-five percent of kindergarteners, 84 percent of first graders, 75 percent of second graders, and 77 percent of third graders met benchmarks—well above national averages in every single grade. In New York City, KIPP schools are also showing exceptional results, with 93 percent of kindergarteners, 85 percent of first graders, 82 percent of second graders, and 78 percent of third graders meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations on DIBELS. KIPP NYC schools also outperformed both the city and the state on annual exams and achieved proficiency rates well above those of schools serving similarly situated students.
These numbers are encouraging, but behind them are real children whose lives are being changed.
From policy to practice: What success looks like
One multilingual learner in Nashville began third grade several years behind grade level expectations. State projections predicted she would earn a 2 on her end-of-year assessment—a critical gap because students who cannot read by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.
Instead, with support from talented educators well versed in the science of reading, this student finished third grade meeting expectations and earned a 4 on her state exam, the highest possible score. Her progress reflected not only effective classroom instruction but also a system of aligned adult support. Her teacher implemented a new evidence-based curriculum with coaching from the region’s literacy directors, who in turn partnered closely with the KIPP Foundation team through year-round collaboration, walkthroughs, and strategy sessions. These coordinated efforts ensured that this young student was supported by a system built to make literacy success the norm, not the exception.
What states should do next
To make the science of reading stick, states should build support for professional learning directly into their legislation, ensuring that implementation is both mandated and fully resourced. That means:
- Sustained funding for professional learning. Provide multi-year investments in coaching and training for educators at all levels—combining formal study with ongoing coaching that enables teachers to apply what they are learning in their classrooms.
- Standards for coaching and support. Ensure that every school implementing new curricula has trained literacy leaders with the time and capacity to observe instruction, model lessons, and support growth.
- Use data to drive improvement. Continuous improvement depends on feedback loops that help educators refine their practice and adjust systems in real time. Track both student outcomes and educator proficiency in key practices, using these insights to identify what is working and where course corrections are needed.
When states measure and fund high-quality educator learning, they create the conditions for student learning to flourish.
What districts and schools can do
Districts and charter networks can strengthen these reforms by protecting time for teachers to plan and practice together. They can establish cohesive coaching cycles that connect lesson planning, internalization, observation, and data review. Principals and assistant principals should take part in the same formal learning as their teachers to ensure they are equipped to lead effective instructional conversations.
Regional and school leaders must also be learners themselves. Through communities of practice, they can share data, troubleshoot challenges, and maintain consistency across classrooms and campuses. In KIPP regions that have embraced this approach, literacy improvement is built into the culture and is delivering results for students.
When teachers succeed, students succeed
The science of reading explains how children learn. The science of implementation reminds us that adults learn the same way—through deliberate practice, feedback, and reflection.
At KIPP, that focus has meant more students reading on grade level, more teachers confident in their practice, and more leaders equipped to sustain improvement. The progress we’ve seen demonstrates what is possible when professional learning is continuous, collaborative, and connected to classroom practice.
Passing a law can mandate change. Sustaining it requires building the capacity of the people doing the work. When we invest in educators—teachers, coaches, and leaders alike—we make the science of reading more than a policy movement, we make it a lasting commitment to every child’s right to read.
