Gregory Camilli and others, National Institute for Early Education
The "reading wars" continue, but at an ever more technical level. This new report (published online as part of the "Education Policy Analysis Archives") was written by Gregory Camilli and colleagues at the National Institute for Early Education Research. This is a deeply technical paper, using the evaluation method known as "meta-analysis," which seeks to re-examine the studies that the National Reading Panel (NRP) relied upon in its influential report three years ago. (Camilli & Co. ended up discarding one of those studies and adding a few more.) Most readers (myself included) will find it heavy going. Notwithstanding the misleading title given this piece by EPAA custodians, the basic conclusion is that the National Reading Panel was essentially correct when it said "systematic phonics" is an important element of early reading instruction but (says Camilli and team) it's considerably more powerful when used in conjunction with individual tutoring and what are ambiguously termed "language activities." (Those appear to be the sorts of things long favored by "whole language" advocates.) In the end, this paper seems to me to strengthen the reading consensus that is proving to be one of the most robust findings of education research: phonics is very important for nearly every child in learning to read, but a diet of pure phonics would leave anybody malnourished. Indeed, veteran educators often point out that phonics, properly taught, gets internalized and automated during first grade, much as a child learns to balance his two-wheeler without thinking about it. Thereafter, he can go to interesting places on his bike. In education, once phonics has been internalized, student and teacher can go on to use these skills for rewarding reading activities, calling upon the skills as needed but barely having to think about them. To repeat, this particular report is heavy going. You might do better to read George Archibald's excellent Washington Times article. You can find the report at http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n15/ and Archibald's piece at http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030610-125708-5569r.htm.
