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.
The science of reading doesn’t start with kindergarten—it starts at birth. The science of reading revolution is a promising one that is already having a positive impact on some fourth grade reading scores. But really maximizing the impact of science of reading will require an essential practice already underway in leading states: starting before kindergarten.
The early years are a critical time for brain development—and language acquisition. States already have early learning standards that focus on language development in the pre-kindergarten years. In almost every state, more rigorous support for implementation of those standards could have a significant impact (and in some states, the standards themselves may need revisiting).
We know that too many children are not meeting the standards: While not every state conducts a statewide kindergarten readiness assessment, the data we have show that many children enter kindergarten well behind where the state standards say they should be. The science of reading can help close that gap, but there’s only so much schools can do in a given year.
That’s why it’s essential to add years. High-quality pre-kindergarten settings with a focus on the science of reading—in an age-appropriate manner—can help to improve literacy rates at kindergarten entry. That in turn can have a ripple effect throughout the system, including allowing K–3 teachers to build on a stronger foundation of reading skills.
To systematize science of reading in the pre-kindergarten years, there are a set of practices leading states, districts, and schools are already putting into place. These include:
States
- Add years to the educational continuum by funding the expansion of preschool programs. If the state does not already have universal or near-universal approach to funding, considering focusing expansion on areas where school districts have lower reading scores.
- If the state’s preschool program focuses on four-year-olds, consider expanding it to three-year-olds, at least in areas with lower reading scores. Instead of asking teachers to scratch and claw for additional instructional minutes in early elementary school, states can accelerate progress by adding an entire school year of instruction at a developmentally foundational time.
- Ensure that preschool programs have the skilled teachers needed to build literacy skills and that those teachers are well-supported. This includes ensuring that the science of reading is built into teacher preparation—and then continuing to support preschool teachers with the science of reading once they’re in the classroom.
- Include preschool programs in the state’s overall plan for strengthening literacy so that there’s true alignment between preschool and K–4. If early elementary teachers are focused solely on catching up the kids who enter behind, they’ll squander the gains made by students who came in meeting state standards.
- Provide support for high-quality early childhood instructional materials aligned to the science of reading, and support for teachers to utilize those materials effectively.
- Implement statewide assessments that track progress toward kindergarten readiness goals. These assessments should include a focus on essential pre-literacy and early literacy skills—helping teachers to improve their engagement with children and giving policymakers a window into what is working and what isn’t.
- In states where different early childhood programs are overseen by different agencies, ensure that there is an empowered point person working across early childhood settings to support improvement.
Districts
- Publicly articulate preschool as part of an overall literacy strategy.
- Increase access to preschool.
- Collaborate with private early childhood providers in the area—including Head Start—to align professional practices to science of reading best practices and to increase alignment across settings (including between early childhood and kindergarten).
- Increase the focus on the quality of adult-child interactions that promote school readiness and pre-literacy skills.
- Use flexible funds to add preschool classes in communities where reading scores are low.
- Leverage statewide assessments—and complementary local assessments—to understand the literacy of incoming kindergartners, and build local strategies based on that data. Those local strategies should include attention to both pre-kindergarten and early elementary instruction.
- Use data to drive decision-making, including at the resource level and instructional level.
Schools
- Principals should include early childhood teachers in their overall strategy and in their professional development—even if those teachers work for community providers.
- Principals should emphasize the importance of alignment across years—particularly between pre-k and kindergarten—and support early childhood and early elementary teachers to work together.
These recommendations will come as no surprise to the states that have been leading the charge on the science of reading, like Mississippi and Louisiana. They’re already including early childhood as part of their literacy strategy, with a focus on instruction and curricular materials. Importantly, that instruction can be conducted in a play-based environment; there should be no tension between the state’s literacy goals and the need for preschool-aged children to have fun while they learn.
There’s no question that a great deal more needs to be done in K–12 schools to fulfill the promise of the science of reading. But all of that work, important as it is, will spark merely marginal gains if we don’t address kindergarten readiness. The fundamental improvement needed isn’t just making the most of the four years between kindergarten and third grade; it’s making the most of the eight years between birth and third grade. Incorporating early learning into state science of reading strategies is the only way to do that.
