Reading & Literacy

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Featured Special Reports

Special Report Beyond 3rd Grade: What to Do When Older Students Struggle to Read
Many secondary students also struggle with basic reading. How can schools catch them up?
November 24, 2025
Students follow along in their copies of “Among the Hidden” by Margaret Peterson Haddix in a seventh grade reading class at in Bow, N.H., on Oct. 29, 2025.
Students follow along in their copies of <i>Among the Hidden</i> by Margaret Peterson Haddix in a seventh grade reading class at Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H., on Oct. 29, 2025.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Special Report Different Subjects, Different Reading
How can teachers help students master each content area's specialized vocabulary, tools, and ways of communicating?
October 28, 2024
Illustration of student with multiple books.
Dan Page for Education Week
Special Report Reading to Understand: Unlocking the Elements of Comprehension
Reading comprehension is a complex element of the "science of reading." Learn how schools can foster students’ ability to make sense of texts.
January 15, 2024
First grade students read over a story they crafted together in Megan Gose’s classroom at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023.
First grade students read over a story they crafted together in Megan Gose’s classroom at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023.
Emily Elconin for Education Week
  • The Latest

    Reading & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: Helping Older Readers Catch Up—What Really Works?
    Test your knowledge of how schools can better support older struggling readers with targeted, effective literacy instruction.
    September 1, 2026
    This photo taken on August 26, 2026, shows a book from the late music icon Dolly Parton's Imagination Library charitable program among flowers left at a memorial to the singer-songwriter, in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee. Parton's successful children's book donation project was borne of personal anguish: her own father grew up illiterate in rural Tennessee. The program sends books to children by mail for free, from birth until age five.
    A book from the late music icon Dolly Parton's Imagination Library's charitable program is shown at a memorial in her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn., on Aug. 26, 2026. Her organization has donated an estimated 3 million reading materials to children in the United States and internationally.
    Michael Mathes / AFP via Getty Images
    Reading & Literacy How Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Will Still Aim to Nurture a 'Love of Reading'
    A literacy expert and librarian discuss how access books can stir a lifelong passion among children.
    Jennifer Vilcarino, August 31, 2026
    4 min read
    COLORADO SPRINGS, CO- NOVEMBER 17: Teacher Adam Gravenor uses AI technology to assist his instruction at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Nov. 17, 2025.
    Teacher Adam Gravenor uses AI technology to assist his instruction at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Nov. 17, 2025. As AI continues to enter the classroom, some teachers are using both general tools and those provided by educational publishers to generate "decodable" text to supplement phonics lessons, or texts of varying complexity.
    RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
    Reading & Literacy More Kids Are Learning to Read on AI-Generated Text. What Are the Pros and Cons?
    AI tools can easily create practice passages. Are they comparable to those written by humans?
    Sarah Schwartz, August 27, 2026
    8 min read
    A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.
    A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2025. A new study shows that shorter, less intensive tutoring can be effective.
    Eric Thayer/AP
    Reading & Literacy Can Lighter-Touch Tutoring Programs Benefit Kids Too?
    A short, classroom-embedded tutoring program showed persistent gains in student improvement.
    Sarah Schwartz, August 26, 2026
    3 min read
    West Hollywood CA April 1977 - Dolly Parton performs at the Roxy in 1977
    Dolly Parton performs at the Roxy nightclub in West Hollywood, Calif., in 1977. Photo by Nancy Barr Brandon /MediaPunch /IPX via AP.
    Nancy Barr Brandon /MediaPunch /IPX via AP<br/>
    Reading & Literacy Dolly Parton's Legacy Extended From Country Music to Literacy
    The iconic singer, who died this week, founded Imagination Library to support children birth through age 5.
    The Associated Press, August 25, 2026
    4 min read
    This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
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    Reading & Literacy Whitepaper
    Six Principles That Turn Decoding into Reading Fluency
    This eBook shares six research-backed principles for designing practice that builds real automaticity. Ideal for educators moving student...
    Content provided by WordFlight
    Teacher Donnie Piercey goes over the results of a writing assignment called "Find the Bot" during his class at Stonewall Elementary in Lexington, Ky., Feb. 6, 2023.
    Teacher Donnie Piercey reviews the products of a writing assignment during his class at Stonewall Elementary in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 6, 2023.
    Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo
    Reading & Literacy First Reading. Then Math. Is the 'Science of Writing' Next?
    Integrating reading and writing can lead to better student outcomes in both areas, studies show.
    Sarah Schwartz, August 19, 2026
    4 min read
    Students at R. Brown McAllister Elementary School use exercises in phonemic awareness during literary instruction on March 19, 2025, in Concorn, N.C.
    Students at R. Brown McAllister Elementary School practice exercises in phonemic awareness during literary instruction on March 19, 2025, in Concorn, N.C. Consensus exists that teaching students alphabetics, including phonics and phonemic awareness, is critical for reading—but which methods are the most efficient?
    Cornell Watson for Education Week
    Reading & Literacy A New Phonics Debate Shows How the 'Science of Reading' Movement Is Evolving
    Growing momentum behind 'linguistic' phonics has raised questions about how best to use classroom time.
    Sarah Schwartz, August 13, 2026
    6 min read
    Julie Celestial, center, teaches her kindergarten class a literacy lesson at Mark Twain Elementary School in Long Beach, California on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 . A new bill could change how literacy is taught in elementary schools by providing transitional kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers with training and textbooks that stress what's known as science of reading, an approach to literacy that focuses heavily on phonics and foundational reading skills to combat California's literacy crisis. Though other states have shifted to this evidence-based reading, California's reading instruction has largely been left to the control of school districts, many of which have not made the switch. The school has begun their shift to a science of reading approach and are seen as an example for other California districts.
    Julie Celestial, center, teaches her kindergarten class a literacy lesson at Mark Twain Elementary School in Long Beach, Calif. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Proponents of a "speech-to-print" phonics approach say it works more efficiently than other methods. But research evidence is inconclusive.
    Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via TNS
    Reading & Literacy What is 'Linguistic' Phonics and Why Are Some Schools Adopting It?
    A new question is emerging in the "science of reading": Is one type of phonics instruction better than another?
    Sarah Schwartz, August 7, 2026
    8 min read
    Sixth graders read a passage and give constructive feedback to their partners during Nancy Barajas' class at Fairview Elementary School on May 6, 2026, in Modesto, Calif.
    Sixth graders read a passage and give constructive feedback to their partners during Nancy Barajas' class at Fairview Elementary School on May 6, 2026, in Modesto, Calif. New research shows the nation's 6th graders' reading scores have flatlined, and the lowest-performing students are losing ground.
    Annie Barker/AP
    Reading & Literacy Middle Schoolers' Reading Scores Are Still Stuck at Post-Pandemic Lows
    New data shows that the lowest-performing students are falling the furthest behind.
    Sarah Schwartz, August 4, 2026
    4 min read
    AT LEFT, US Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) listens as US Senator Tim Kane (D-VA) speaks regarding the Special Education Administration Act (S. 5038), and the profit the transfer of certain offices to other Federal Agency (S.5046) Act during a Health, Education, Labor and Pension Executive Session at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
    U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., left, listens as U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee meeting at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 30, 2026. The committee advanced two bills related to reading, as well as another opposing the transfer of certain U.S. Department of Education offices to other agencies.
    Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
    Reading & Literacy Federal 'Science of Reading' Bill Advances
    A Senate committee also passed a proposal to classify dyslexia separately under federal disability law.
    Sarah Schwartz, July 31, 2026
    5 min read
    The desktop of a student at the Wells Preparatory Elementary School reflects the literature they are studying in Charlotte Owens' fifth grade class on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared to 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief.
    The desktop of a student at the Wells Preparatory Elementary School reflects the literature they're studying in Charlotte Owens' fifth grade class on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. Research supports children reading over the summer—but not specifically assigning reading lists or holding kids accountable for completing them.
    Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo
    Reading & Literacy Is Required Summer Reading a Good Idea? What the Research Says
    Studies show benefits for summer reading in general. But little evidence supports assigning specific books.
    Sarah Schwartz, July 30, 2026
    4 min read
    Collage of an image of three students reading books in a library, a stack of novels, and images of text from the pages of books.
    Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
    Reading & Literacy Opinion Teacher-Tested Strategies for Improving Reading Instruction
    How educators are making literacy lessons stick in their classrooms.
    Larry Ferlazzo, July 27, 2026
    1 min read
    Silhouetted students having a conversation. Finding different meaning. Science of reading. Phonics.
    Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
    Reading & Literacy Opinion The Two-Minute Fix Every Phonics Lesson Needs
    It may look like an amusing tangent, but this exercise can cement new vocabulary.
    Carolyn Strom, July 24, 2026
    5 min read
    SummerReading
    Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
    Reading & Literacy Why Mandatory Summer Reading Doesn’t Work—and What Teachers Prefer Instead
    Summer reading shouldn’t be prescriptive, most teachers say.
    Olina Banerji, July 23, 2026
    1 min read