Wonkathon 2025: What will make science of reading laws succeed?

This year’s record-setting Wonkathon is over, and the results are in!

First place:

Science of reading 2.0: Assessment in the service of learning as the backbone of science-powered reading improvement
By Edmund W. Gordon and Eric Tucker

Second place:

Read by grade three? How about reading (and writing) beyond it
By Miah Daughtery

Third place:

Systems, not slogans: Real change requires relentless implementation
By Kunjan Narechania and Jessica Baghian

Thank you to all of our participants! Read about the competition, as well as all 48 entries, below.

THIS YEAR'S PROMPT

The reading crisis in America’s schools long predates the pandemic, but in recent years it has drawn new urgency and spurred a wave of reform. In state after state, governors and legislatures have enacted “science of reading” laws intended to overhaul how children are taught to read—mandating changes in curricula, teacher training, intervention, and accountability. They’re meant to boost weak reading scores and close literacy gaps. Yet an important question remains: Will these laws live up to their potential?

Today, just one-third of American fourth graders read at or above the “proficient” level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress—the lowest rate since 2005. Before Covid, too, many classrooms relied on approaches to reading, like “three-cueing” or “balanced literacy,” that run counter to the evidence on how children learn. The pandemic worsened matters, erasing years of progress and leaving millions of students further behind. In response, more than 40 states have passed legislation designed to align instruction with the science of reading.

The laws vary in their particulars, however. Almost all invest in professional development for current educators. Most require the adoption of approved curricula, including materials and assessments, as well as tutoring or intensive interventions for struggling readers. And about half include teacher certification or licenses in science of reading instruction and/or mandate that teacher preparation programs incorporate it into their courses.

Implementation challenges abound. Districts struggle to retrain administrators and teachers who have spent careers embracing discredited methods. Teacher-preparation programs often resist change. States regularly face pushback from educators and unions overwhelmed by shifting mandates. There may or may not be serious accountability for results. And in some places, the “science of reading” has become more slogan than substance, with laws passed but not fully funded, faithfully implemented, or closely monitored.

Consequently, it’s hard to know whether all this activity will yield significant and lasting improvements in literacy achievement. That’s why this year’s Wonkathon asks: 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?

WHAT’S A WONKATHON?

For eleven years now, we at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute have hosted an annual Wonkathon on our Flypaper blog to generate substantive conversation around key issues in education reform. Last year’s forum focused how policymakers and practitioners can reduce chronic absenteeism.

As in years past, we’ll encourage our audience to vote for the “wisest wonk,” an honor previously conferred on such luminaries as Kelly James, Brad Bernatek, Alex Spurrier, Amy Chen Kulesa, Keri Ingraham, Angela Jerabek, Abby Javurek, Jessica Shopoff, Chase Eskelsen, McKenzie Snow, Claire Voorhees, Adam Peshek, Patricia Levesque, Christy Wolfe, Seth Rau, and Joe Siedlecki.

THIS YEAR'S SUBMISSIONS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY THE SURNAME OF THE FIRST AUTHOR)