Governor DeWine, in his final State of the State address, called on the Department of Education and Workforce to redouble efforts to robustly implement the Science of Reading. Ohio’s comprehensive early literacy legislation, passed in 2023, requires all public schools to use high-quality reading curricula aligned to the Science of Reading and requires educators to receive professional development in this instructional approach. The legislation also prohibits “three-cueing,” a debunked method that encourages children to guess at words, rather than sounding them out.
“The Science of Reading is the most proven and effective approach for teaching children to read,” said Chad L. Aldis, Vice President for Ohio Policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. “Ohio lawmakers were right to insist that schools implement the Science of Reading and to support it with millions in state funding. But for these efforts to achieve their intended goal—higher reading proficiency—Ohio needs to ensure the law is implemented with fidelity. The creation of intervention teams to assist schools with their implementation efforts and the increase in the number of reading coaches—as proposed by Governor DeWine—will positively impact the experience of students and help more of them to read on grade level.”
The Science of Reading is an evidence-based approach to reading instruction that emphasizes phonics (letter-sound relationships), vocabulary, fluency, and background knowledge. For more on the Science of Reading and Ohio’s literacy initiatives, please see the Fordham Institute’s 2024 report: https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/research/and-running-ohios-early-implementation-its-science-reading-reforms.
