Beyond the Buzzwords: What the Science of Reading Really Means The Science of Reading is a Discipline, Not a Program

What is this “science of reading” that everyone is talking about?  The phrase is seemingly everywhere in education.  School board meetings.  State legislation.  Curriculum adoptions.  Professional development sessions.  But what is this Science of Reading really?

When I asked Dr. Nathaniel Greene, Director of the Division of Education Analytics and Resources at the New Hampshire Department of Education, to define science of reading, his answer was clear and direct – “It is a discipline – it is everything we’ve learned about how kids read, and how we can effectively apply that knowledge into successful instruction.”

The science of reading is not a curriculum.  It is not a boxed program.  It is not a political slogan.  It is a body of interdisciplinary research that examines how children learn to read and what instructional practices are most effective.  This body of research is drawn from cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, and decades of educational studies.  

The science of reading’s strength is straightforward – use evidence and data to guide teaching, identify what works, discard what doesn’t, and apply research thoughtfully to the real students sitting in the real classrooms.  

One common misunderstanding, Greene explained, is that people hear “science of reading” and assume it is something that you purchase.  “Some people hear “science of reading” and believe that it is spelled with a capital “s” and a capital “r” because they think it’s a curriculum for sale,” said Greene.  “It isn’t.  It is an academic discipline that requires sustained professional development and the ability to translate research into practice.”

Even though Dr. Greene is coming more specifically from a New Hampshire perspective, to be clear, the work happening in New Hampshire mirrors efforts underway in many other states – expanding literacy training, strengthening instructional coherence, and grounding policy decisions in research. This is not a local trend – it is a national recalibration.

The Big Picture is a Decline Educators Can’t Ignore

So, why does this recalibration of how to instruct children how to read seem so urgent?  Because reading scores have declined steadily over the last decade!  And no, this drop did not happen after the pandemic.  It started before, and we can’t use the pandemic as a scapegoat for lower reading scores.

“In a lot of cases,” Greene noted, “what we are seeing in New Hampshire we are seeing across the nation.”  Several forces converged to cause this steady decline in literacy:

• a significant increase in screen time and classroom technology use
• a shift away from traditional textbooks
• more scanning and skimming, less sustained reading
• changing assessment systems
• inconsistent literacy instruction across grade levels
• high turnover in school leadership (which results in numerous program changes and a lack of consistency in programs)

“The more and more we rely on technology for instruction,” Greene observed, “the less gain we see.”  While COVID made teaching significantly harder, particularly for educators, reading scores rebounded more quickly than math.  This points to the issue running deeper than pandemic disruption.  The decline is systemic.

Instruction vs. Environment is a 50/50 Reality

How much of our students’ decline is about classroom instruction, and how much is about broader cultural change?  Greene’s estimate: roughly 50/50.  

Students are now living in a scrolling culture.  Screens alter how text is processed, and attention fragments more easily.  Deep reading requires cognitive stamina that constant scrolling can erode.  The blame for this cultural change that impacts reading progress can be placed on both the shoulders of families and schools, as both families and schools can have the bad habit of relying heavily on technology to both educate and entertain children.  And this technology usage is often inhibiting progress rather than advancing it.  

At the same time, teacher preparation programs in many places have not meaningfully evolved.  Literacy leadership from both administration and the educators in the classroom can lack coherence from kindergarten through sixth grade and beyond.  High turnover disrupts instructional consistency, as does inconsistent use of a hodgepodge of curriculum from grade level to grade level.  This high turnover of leaders with differing stances on how to teach reading, coupled with the inconsistency of how reading is taught, leads to a disruption of flow in a child’s educational experience, which inevitably leads to a deficit in literacy progress.

Assessment adds further complexity.  Many formative assessments frequently update their norms.  Greene cautioned: “You run the risk of not fully taking into account that the scores have been benchmarked, potentially overestimating a child’s progress and abilities.”  He offered an analogy: the value of the dollar today is not the same as the value of the dollar in 1920.  If tests are repeatedly re-normed, they no longer represent the same benchmark across years.  Just as the dollar means the same amount of money as in 1920, the value of the dollar has decreased, and just as a benchmark has the same meaning as it did several years ago, the value of the benchmark has decreased.  So, without careful interpretation of our students’ progress, data can mislead, and instruction based on misinterpretation of data can fail our students.  

Stamina, Vocabulary, and the Human Side of Reading

Another subtle, or perhaps not so subtle shift that occurs in classrooms includes students receiving shorter passages to read rather than being assigned entire books to read.  Greene also sees this as a risk.  “Kids should be reading books,” he said emphatically.  Why?  Because reading stamina matters.

Full novels demand sustained attention, deeper comprehension, and the ability to hold multiple ideas in mind.  Excerpts have their place, as do the latest rage in literacy – the graphic novel.  But long-form reading builds cognitive endurance.  

Vocabulary also plays a decisive role in building literacy proficiency.  Students who enter school with a limited vocabulary – limited oral language – face additional barriers.  If too many words in a text are unfamiliar, comprehension collapses.  Oral language builds background knowledge, and background knowledge fuels understanding.  Families have powerful influences in the area of building up vocabulary in the home, before and after students begin going to school:

• Model reading.  Read with your children, and read in front of your children.
• Talk about the text.  When reading with your children, ask them questions about the text to ensure they understand.  And if they don’t, see it as an opportunity to help them develop their literacy skills.  
• Encourage a range of reading materials.  Support your children’s reading by providing them with high-level interest texts, as well as other sources of literature – magazines, comics, newspapers, play scripts, recipes, and yes, even baseball cards!  
• Listen to audiobooks.  Audiobooks build vocabulary and narrative structure awareness.  

Reading is not simply decoding words.  It is language, knowledge, and meaning-making.  

From Research to Responsibility: What Teachers Can Do

If the science of reading is grounded in evidence, what does that mean for educators?  

First, educators should be pursuing meaningful professional development.  The majority of states are currently expanding literacy initiatives.  Teachers should explore state offerings, advocate for high-quality training, and deepen their understanding of language structure.  Organizations like The Reading League provide research-based guidance rooted in cognitive science. 

Second, integrate reading and writing.  Greene emphasized they are “two sides of the same coin.”  Writing about reading strengthens comprehension.  Sentence-level work reinforces decoding and syntax.  

Third, build stamina intentionally.  Protect time for sustained reading.  Assign full texts.  Gradually increase complexity.  

Fourth, collaborate across grade levels.  “The more you can have cross-collaborative discussions between grade levels and buildings, the better,” Greene advised.  Literacy growth must be coherent from elementary through high school.  

Finally, study success.  New Hampshire’s governor, Kelly Ayotte, has directed education leaders to analyze high-performing schools and those showing extraordinary growth, collecting best practices to share statewide.  This mirrors sustained efforts in states such as Mississippi, where comprehensive literacy reform has led to measurable gains.

The science of reading is not a buzzword.  It is not a product.  It is a commitment; a commitment to research, to professional growth, to vocabulary, to stamina, to solid leadership, and to consistency.  Improving reading achievement will not come from slogans.  It will come from disciplined, research-based work, sustained over time, in classrooms, in homes, and across systems.  

Valuable Resources on the Science of Reading

Websites

• The Reading League
• Reading Rockets
• The Florida Center for Reading Research
• Science of Reading Resource Hub
• Really Great Reading
• Scholastic’s Science of Reading Page
• Science of Reading Teacher Resources 
• TeachersFirst Science of Reading Resources

Books

• Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers by Louisa Moats & Carol Tolman: A foundational text that explains how language works – crucial for teachers who want research-based expertise in phonology, morphology, and written language.
• Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Classroom by Jan Burkins & Kari Yates – Practical guidance for incorporating science of reading practices into everyday instruction, especially in literacy block design.

Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) by Louisa Moats & Carol Tolman, Professional Learning Modules – A structured professional learning curriculum used by many districts that deep dives into the science behind reading and spelling.

Language at the Speed of Sight by Mark Seidenberg – A cognitive neuroscience perspective on reading development, accessible and research-rich, ideal for teachers who want the science behind the science.

Equipped for Reading Success by David A. Kilpatrick – Focuses on phonemic awareness, decoding, and orthographic mapping –  core components of proficient reading.