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Select Group Ushers In Reading Policy

'Evidence Based' Drive Led by Head of Federal Child-Research Branch

He's become a familiar face in congressional hearings, satellite seminars, general-session presentations, foundation symposia, and town meetings. G. Reid Lyon, the director of the branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development that sponsors studies on reading, has crisscrossed the country to herald the findings of scientific research on the subject and press for sweeping change in reading instruction.

By all accounts, his intensive campaign to convince lawmakers, educators, and parents that science holds the answers to sound reading instruction has been effective. His zeal has earned him the labels "guru," "catalyst," "champion."

It has also made him the target of stinging criticism from researchers and other experts who complain that the former Army paratrooper has commandeered the debate, pushed out alternative opinions, and rewarded a small cadre of...