Schools
EdSource's Best Of 2022: California's Reading Dilemma
The story largely centered on a "tug-of-war" between teaching phonics and teaching "meaning," how to sound it out and think it through.
December 28, 2022
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California is part of a national debate over how to teach reading fueled by exhaustive brain research into the science of reading that suggests that most children must be explicitly taught how to connect sounds with letters.
The philosophical tug-of-war pits teaching phonics, how to sound it out, and teaching meaning, how to think it through. The stakes are very high: research shows that students who aren’t reading at grade level by the third grade will struggle to catch up throughout their education career.
Find out what's happening in Across Californiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Only 48.5% of third-graders tested at grade level or above in English language arts during the 2018-19 school year, before the pandemic stalled all learning. In 2022 only 42.17 of third-graders tested at grade level.
In the past year, EdSource has taken a deep dive into the complex debate about how to solve California’s literacy crisis.
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EdSource works to engage Californians on key education challenges with the goal of enhancing learning success. It does so by providing timely, useful and accurate information to key education stakeholders and the larger public; advancing awareness of major education initiatives being implemented in California and nationally; and highlighting effective models and strategies intended to improve student outcomes, as well as identifying areas that are in need of repair or reform
