NOTE: This piece was originally published by RealClear Education.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the majority of Ohio’s fourth-graders are failing as readers. And only two out of eight Ohio children living in poverty are proficient in reading. This is a wake-up call that demands attention: early-grade reading proficiency correlates directly with future earnings, college attendance, homeownership, and retirement savings.
Equally troubling is that, over the past two decades, NAEP scores have remained mostly flat – that is, until recent declines, which have mirrored national trends driven largely by the pandemic. By all standards, then, Ohio is failing its children.
We can address this crisis before it is too late: Governor Mike DeWine is seeking major funding from the legislature to retrain teachers, update textbooks, and support the science of reading as the exclusive approach to reading instruction. This focused investment is the kind of intervention that is needed to put kids – and the state – back onto the path of economic vitality.
One of our greatest challenges is the unevenness of classroom instruction. This is often caused by inconsistent teaching methods and training; state law allows districts to teach reading however they wish, and it gives teacher-education institutions much latitude in training future teachers in reading instruction. Indeed, as the National Council on Teacher Quality just announced, some higher-education institutions are failing to provide appropriate and effective preparation as well.
By reshaping policy around evidence-based approaches in classrooms and educator-training programs, we can provide children across the state with quality instruction based on the science of reading. Statewide implementation will help improve metrics and bring a consistent approach that has proven results.
The science of reading is an empirically based approach to reading and writing, developed over five decades from thousands of studies conducted in multiple languages. It works.
While some teachers still want to use other instructional methods (such as “cueing”), the reality is that if those methods were effective, the results would demonstrate as much. They do not.
Ohio can do better. By using evidence-based decision-making and adopting best practices, we can give students the best chance to thrive – as some states are already doing.
After investing heavily in the science of reading, Mississippi demonstrated more growth in reading scores than any other state. Mississippi became one of the few states that saw reading scores bounce back after prolonged school closures. In less than a decade, the state jumped from 49th to 22nd in the nation in reading proficiency. Mississippi made good on a promise to do better for its children. When this same method was tested in a rural Ohio school system, it resulted in double-digit improvements.
The rest of Ohio needs this chance to succeed, too.
StriveTogether believes that key inflection points in life determine future opportunities, including early-grade reading and middle-grade math. Ohio’s children need to be prepared for the next generation of jobs. With tech companies like Intel, Facebook, and Amazon having offices here, Ohio could become a tech hub. But Ohioans will fill those jobs only if they possess the needed skill sets to perform them – and all learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and technology) requires a solid foundation in reading.
Governor DeWine’s proposal enjoys bipartisan support and is championed by practicing administrators as well as community-based organizations like Learn to Earn Dayton, which consistently delivers positive outcomes for Ohio children.
Ohio needs to follow the research and do better for the kids of our state – and that means aligning efforts around the science of reading.
Thomas J. Lasley, II is Director of Policy and Advocacy, Learn to Earn Dayton and the Montgomery County Educational Service Center. Jennifer Blatz is President and CEO of StriveTogether.
