Legislation on literacy reforms was a necessary first step, but consistent implementation is essential to ensure they have a positive impact on students.
Amid our heated political debates, we can agree on one goal: to provide a quality education for all students. Achieving this ambitious goal begins in the early years of school, when children must learn the basic skills they need to read.
Unfortunately, too many students still struggle with reading fundamentals. In 2022-23, 38% of Ohio’s third-graders did not meet the required reading standards on state reading exams. In Cincinnati, more than half of third-graders read below grade level. Even in suburban districts like Mason and Lakota, about one in five did not achieve proficiency in reading.
More: The science of reading is coming to Ohio’s classrooms. What is it? How can parents help?
One reason for these numbers is teachers’ use of ineffective teaching methods, such as “three-clue” teaching, which encourages children to use pictures and other “clues” to guess words rather than sounding them out phonetically. Research has shown that clue-based programs hinder reading progress, especially when students are exposed to more complex words and texts.
Last summer, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the General Assembly passed a bold bill aimed at banishing discredited reading practices like these from Ohio classrooms. Starting next year, all public elementary schools will be required to follow the “Science of Reading,” meaning only using evidence-based instruction that is firmly rooted in phonics, content knowledge, vocabulary and comprehension. Lawmakers also allocated $169 million to help schools transition to this approach.
Legislating these reforms was a necessary first step, but for them to have a positive impact on students, their consistent implementation is essential. Otherwise, schools could fall back into old habits and revert to disproven methods that do not benefit students.
The good news is that implementation is well underway. As explained in a new report from my organization, the Ohio Department of Education and Labor recently completed a critical early implementation task: developing a list of literacy curricula that are consistent with the science of reading.
It was extremely important to get this step right because there are dozens of curricula on the market, but not all of them adhere to the science of reading. In fact, some of the most commonly used programs have historically incorporated methods like cueing.
To its credit, the Department has approved a shortlist of 15 core literacy curricula. These include high-quality programs that emphasize both phonics and knowledge-rich texts that strengthen reading comprehension. Despite pressure from publishers, poor-quality programs have wisely been kept off the approved list.
Based on this list and a statewide survey of pre-reform reading programs, we now know that the majority of Ohio schools will need to transition to new curricula. In Hamilton County, districts like Finneytown, Norwood, and Sycamore will be doing an overhaul because they previously used non-compliant programs.
Now it’s time to put these high-quality programs into practice. Solid local leadership – from school board members to principals – will be critical. District leaders must ensure that the new materials are actually being used and not just sitting in pantries. They should also provide teachers with sufficient support to implement them effectively, for example by giving them time to learn how to best use an approved program.
Parents and community members also have an important role to play. They should ask questions about how these reforms are being implemented—a form of civic accountability that can prevent regression—and how they can help children become better readers. (For those looking for a layperson-friendly guide to the science of reading, the nonprofit group Reading Rockets has excellent resources.)
The future of our economy and democracy depends on an educated population. Consistent implementation of Ohio’s literacy reforms will help ensure the next generation of students are prepared to take advantage of the many opportunities the future holds.
Aaron Churchill is Ohio research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank based in Washington, DC, that focuses on education issues..
