The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning in every classroom, but as elementary teachers, we felt it most acutely in early reading. Students missed out on months, sometimes years, of foundational instruction. Many entered the next grade without the decoding skills, fluency, or comprehension strategies needed to move forward with confidence.
Now, our focus is on recovery. And thankfully, we’re not left guessing about what works. The Science of Teaching Reading (STR) gives us a roadmap backed by decades of research. In classrooms across the country, teachers are putting that science into action through explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. When these components are intentionally integrated into small-group instruction, high-dosage tutoring, and daily lessons, students make measurable gains, even after pandemic setbacks.
What the Data Tells Us About the Reading Impact
If you’ve seen more students struggling with basic decoding or reading below grade level, you’re not alone. The data supports what we’ve experienced firsthand. National assessments show that reading achievement dropped significantly in the wake of school closures. According to Kuhfeld et al. (2022), students in grades 3–8 lost between three to six months of reading progress, with some falling even further behind.
The National Center for Education Statistics (2023) reported that 13-year-olds’ average reading scores dropped by four points between 2020 and 2023, a steep and sobering decline. A district-level study by Kane and Reardon (2024) found that students in low-income schools were disproportionately impacted and have shown the slowest recovery rates. In many of our classrooms, that means we’re teaching students who are technically in third or fourth grade, but reading at a late first- or second-grade level.
The Science of Teaching Reading: Our Foundation for Recovery
The Science of Teaching Reading refers to a large body of research on how the brain learns to read and what instructional practices are most effective. At its core are five essential components, identified by the National Reading Panel (2000):
- Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words
- Phonics: Understanding the relationship between letters and sounds
- Fluency: Reading with speed, accuracy, and expression
- Vocabulary: Knowing and understanding the meaning of words
- Comprehension: The ability to understand and interpret what is read
In classrooms where these elements are taught systematically and explicitly, students develop the foundational skills necessary to become independent readers. And this isn’t just theory, it’s proven. Schools that have shifted to STR-aligned instruction are seeing real gains, even among students who fell behind during the pandemic.
High-Dosage Tutoring Rooted in STR
High-dosage tutoring, defined as targeted instruction delivered at least three times per week in a 1:1 or small-group setting, is one of the most effective recovery strategies we have. The success of these programs hinges on their alignment with STR. That means tutors aren’t just reviewing assignments, they’re explicitly teaching phonics, decoding, and fluency using structured routines and diagnostic data.
Kraft and Goldstein (2020) found that when tutoring is delivered with STR-aligned materials and frequent progress monitoring, students can make gains equivalent to an entire school year in reading. Districts in Tennessee and Washington, D.C., have used this model to close gaps created by the pandemic, focusing on students in grades K–3, where early intervention has the most long-lasting impact (Kamenetz, 2022).
Skill-Based Small Group Instruction
Small-group instruction has always been a classroom staple, but now more than ever, it must be skill-driven. Instead of grouping students by reading level alone, STR encourages us to group students based on specific needs, such as phoneme segmentation, blending, decoding multisyllabic words, or developing prosody.
Spear-Swerling (2018) emphasizes that STR-aligned instruction focuses on the “how” of reading, helping students understand the rules and patterns of language so they can apply them across texts. When students receive targeted practice in the areas they’re struggling with, they make faster progress and build confidence.
In our own classrooms, that might mean:
- Using phoneme-grapheme mapping for five minutes a day
- Practicing decodable text aligned to current phonics patterns
- Repeated oral reading for fluency development
- Using morphology instruction to break apart multisyllabic words
Each of these approaches is supported by STR and can be delivered in short, purposeful groups, no elaborate programs required.
The Importance of Teacher Knowledge
We know that curriculum alone doesn’t close reading gaps, teachers do. Moats (2020) argues that effective reading instruction depends on a teacher’s knowledge of the structure of language, developmental stages of reading, and how to apply that knowledge to real student needs. The Science of Teaching Reading isn’t just about what we teach; it’s about knowing why and how we teach it.
In response, many states, including Texas, now require STR-based training for K–3 educators. The Texas Reading Academies are designed to ensure all teachers understand how to deliver reading instruction aligned with the most current research. This professional development gives teachers tools for lesson planning, small-group instruction, and intervention, all grounded in what works.
Other efforts, like Nebraska’s WORDS Project, focus on training teachers to implement Tier 2 interventions using real-time data and explicit instructional strategies (Institute of Education Sciences, 2023). These initiatives reflect a national commitment to equipping educators, not just reforming curriculum.
Implementation Tips: What This Looks Like in Practice
If you’re trying to bring STR practices into your classroom, or strengthen what you’re already doing, consider the following:
- Start with Assessment: Use phonics screeners, fluency checks, and oral reading observations to determine where your students need the most help.
- Target One Skill at a Time: Resist the urge to “cover everything.” Focus your small-group lessons on a single skill or routine for several days before moving on.
- Use Decodable Texts: Make sure students are practicing reading in texts that align with the phonics skills they’re learning.
- Track Progress: Regularly assess and regroup students based on their growth. STR is dynamic, our instruction should be too.
- Collaborate with Colleagues: STR is most effective when it’s schoolwide. Share strategies, routines, and success stories with your grade-level team or interventionist.
The goal isn’t to overhaul everything overnight, it’s to make steady, research-aligned decisions that support our students day by day.
We’re in This Together
The learning loss from the pandemic is real, and for many students, recovery will take time. But the Science of Teaching Reading gives us clarity and confidence. We know what to teach, how to teach it, and why it matters. With consistent, intentional instruction, our students can and will catch up.
Every phoneme we model, every decodable passage we guide, and every small-group lesson we lead is a step toward rebuilding the foundation that was shaken. Together, with research and purpose, we can restore what was lost, and build something even stronger.
References: Find out more
Institute of Education Sciences (IES). (2023). WORDS: Workshop on Reading Development Strategies. U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov
Kamenetz, A. (2022, September 6). How high-dosage tutoring is helping students catch up. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/09/06/1121257232/high-dosage-tutoring-pandemic-learning-loss
Kane, T. J., & Reardon, S. F. (2024). Tracking COVID-19 learning loss and recovery in America’s schools. Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University.
Kraft, M. A., & Goldstein, M. (2020). Getting tutoring right to reduce COVID-19 learning loss. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu
Kuhfeld, M., Soland, J., Tarasawa, B., Johnson, A., Ruzek, E., & Liu, J. (2022). Projecting the potential impact of COVID-19 school closures on academic achievement. Educational Researcher, 49(8), 549–565. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20965918
Moats, L. C. (2020). Teaching reading is rocket science: What expert teachers of reading should know and be able to do. American Educator, 44(2), 4–9.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). The nation’s report card: Long-term trend reading and mathematics assessment results. U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov
National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Spear-Swerling, L. (2018). Structured literacy and typical literacy practices: Understanding differences to create instructional opportunities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 51(3), 201–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917750160
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