1: The Problem

Sixty years ago, Marie Clay developed a way to teach reading she said would help kids who were falling behind. They’d catch up and never need help again. Today, her program remains popular, and her theory about how people read is at the root of a lot of reading instruction in sch ...  Show more

President George W. Bush made improving reading instruction a priority. He got Congress to provide money to schools that used reading programs supported by scientific research. But backers of Marie Clay’s ideas saw Bush’s Reading First initiative as a threat. Read: Transcript of ...  Show more

A report finds that two-thirds of American children fail to read at a proficient level. We talk to education experts and a U.S. Senator about the dangers of illiteracy and what can be done to reverse course. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. ...  Show more

For decades, American schools have taught reading with an approach that doesn’t work very well. Emily Hanford of the podcast “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong” explains how things are starting to change. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Mat ...  Show more

Nearly everyone can learn to read — if they're taught correctly. It turns out that one of the primary approaches to teaching reading in schools was proven wrong decades ago. Emily Hanford, the host and investigative journalist behind the explosive "Sold A Story" podcast series ...

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Learning to read proficiently is not an easy task for most students without explicit, systematic instruction. Current US reading scores indicate that 67% of all 4th graders are reading at basic or below basic levels. This fact is leading to many ...