Even states with best-in-class policies are seeing dips in state test scores after fifth grade. What’s going on?
Over the last several years, educators, industry experts, and legislators have embraced the need for phonics-based foundational literacy skills. But despite seeing pockets of reading improvement in third grade, proficiency falls from 33% to 31% (and in some states, as low as 22%) in eighth grade. In other words, the literacy skills aren’t sticking.
How can districts build effective literacy programs at the secondary level and continue reinforcing those skills and knowledge? Even in districts that have revamped how they teach phonics to early elementary students, the "read to learn" programs in upper elementary often don't do enough to incorporate knowledge building as a critical literacy foundation.
In this panel discussion, we’ll examine the research and give real-world examples of what works and what doesn’t when designing literacy instruction programs.
Natalie Wexler is an education writer and the author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—and How to Fix It (Avery 2019). She is also the co-author, with Judith C. Hochman, of The Writing Revolution 2.0: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades (Jossey-Bass 2024), and the host of “Reading
Comprehension Revisited,” a six-episode series for the Knowledge Matters Podcast. Her book Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning is forthcoming from ASCD in 2025. Natalie’s articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The American Scholar, and other publications. She has a free Substack newsletter called Minding the Gap, and she lives in Washington, D.C.
Becky began her administrative career as a middle school Assistant Principal in the Rumson, New Jersey school district. In 2002, she moved on to the Freehold Township School district where she is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. During her tenure in the district, she served as principal in three of the eight district schools. She supervised many district programs including English as a Second Language, elementary programs for students with autism, and preschool expansion. She has facilitated many reviews and revisions of district curricula and most recently the successful completion of the QSAC monitoring process.
Dan brings twenty-plus years of professional experience spent working towards a more perfect union of teaching, learning and technology. Prior to Newsela, Dan was the founding Director of Digital Learning at Achievement First Public Charter Schools, where he spearheaded the integration of digital learning technologies across the network. He began his education career in Teach for America and went on to teach in public and private schools, as well as in the US Navy. He holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Brown University, and Tufts University.
