Welcome back to the George W. Bush Institute’s education newsletter, where we explore how the science of reading, meaningful assessment, and strong accountability work together to improve student outcomes across K-12 education.
Over the past week, I met with state leaders at the Council of Chief State School Officers’ Legislative Conference and with federal policymakers on Capitol Hill. I left both conversations energized and inspired. At a time when what divides us can feel greater than what brings us together, there is still clear common ground: Our nation’s children must be able to read and do math. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue – it’s an American one.
Our challenges are many, but so are our opportunities. Across the country, policymakers and educators are grounding their work in research, advancing coherent policies, and focusing on implementation, measurement, and continuous improvement. In many states, parents are also leaning in, asking hard questions and advocating for stronger teaching and learning.
Most encouraging is that this momentum is being driven by states. The science of reading continues to gain traction as more states adopt aligned policies and take on the harder work of implementation. At the same time, states are sharpening their focus on math, where outcomes have also declined.
With sustained leadership, a focus on what works, and a shared commitment to student outcomes, we have a real opportunity to accelerate progress and deliver meaningful results for kids.
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Monthly snapshot
20 – the number of states that have prohibited three-cueing in state law or regulation
According to ExcelinEd, 20 states have explicitly eliminated three-cueing, the flawed instructional approach that encourages students to rely on cues about how words look rather than decoding words by using sounds and letters. Three-cueing runs counter to evidence-based reading instruction because it promotes guessing rather than actual reading.
It is important to explicitly identify three-cueing as an ineffective teaching practice that should not be used in the classroom. Without clear guidance, well-meaning educators may continue to rely on this approach, undermining efforts to align instruction with the science of reading in districts and schools.
State spotlight
Delaware set an ambitious early literacy goal – 53% of third graders reading proficiently by 2028
Delaware education leaders have released a new four-year strategic plan that places early literacy at the center of the state’s education agenda. The roadmap sets a clear goal: increasing the share of third graders reading proficiently to 53% from 38% by 2028. To reach this target, the state will require all K-3 teachers to complete professional learning aligned with the science of reading and will expand early literacy supports for struggling students.
The plan also emphasizes transparency, with data made publicly available through dashboards and regular progress updates. As Governor Matt Meyer noted, “This roadmap creates a shared direction and measurable targets, and it commits the state to doing our part: supporting schools, tracking progress, and being transparent with families about what’s working and what isn’t.”
Science of reading
- The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce has released a new rubric to help districts evaluate whether grades 6-8 English language arts materials align with the science of reading, effective literacy instruction, and Ohio’s Learning Standards.
While much of the focus on the science of reading has centered on pre-K through third grade, reading proficiency continues to decline in eighth and 12th grades. Tools like this rubric are critical to extending evidence-based literacy instruction into the middle grades, helping ensure students continue to build strong reading skills rather than fall further behind as texts become more complex.
- In The 74, Chad Aldeman highlights Worcester County Public Schools in Maryland as a powerful example of what strong literacy leadership and a clear instructional focus can achieve. Despite serving one of the least affluent student populations in the state, the district has the highest third grade reading proficiency rates.
Aldeman attributes this success to Superintendent Annette Wallace’s urgency around student outcomes and a disciplined early literacy strategy: 150 minutes of daily K-2 reading instruction, protected core instructional time, extensive reading through the 100 Book Challenge, strong family engagement, and close monitoring of student progress. The district’s results demonstrate that with strong leadership, high-quality instructional materials, data-informed decision-making, and family partnership, meaningful gains in literacy are possible.
- Stanford University professor Rebecca Silverman explains how decades of research across neuroscience, psychology, and education have shaped the science of reading and deepened our understanding of how children learn. Her research highlights the importance of both decoding and language comprehension. As more than 40 states adopt aligned literacy policies, Silverman emphasizes that success will depend on strong implementation – particularly sustained teacher training, high-quality instructional materials, adequate funding, and targeted support for struggling students.
- At a recent congressional hearing, experts told lawmakers that improving reading outcomes requires far more than adopting a new curriculum, Sarah Schwartz reports in Education Week. The U.S. House Appropriations Committee heard testimony from Holly Lane, director and professor, University of Florida Literacy Institute; Bonnie Short, director, Alabama Reading Initiative; and Larry Saulsberry, director, Teaching and Learning for Literacy, Huntsville City Schools in Alabama, who shared that states making the strongest gains have paired science-of-reading reforms with careful implementation, investment in teacher training, instructional coaching, and leaders who can make sound, research-based decisions.
Bonnie Short stated, “Alabama’s experience demonstrates that meaningful literacy improvement does not come from isolated programs or short-term initiatives. Instead, it results from coherent policy paired with long-term, job-embedded implementation supports that help educators deliver strong instruction, identify risk early, and respond quickly when students need additional support.”
Measurement matters
- In a New York Times opinion essay, Nicholas Kristof argued that recent academic successes in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi are rooted in “insistence on metrics, accountability, and mastery of reading by the end of third grade.” He contrasts that approach with efforts to lower standards in the name of equity, an impulse he says reflects what President George W. Bush called the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” The broader lesson is that these Southern states raised achievement by making results public, tracking student progress closely, and stepping in quickly when children started to fall behind – not by lowering the bar.
- In a Washington Post op-ed, Tennessee legislator and National Assessment Governing Board Chair Mark White explains how assessment and accountability helped drive his state’s academic turnaround. After seeing a large gap in proficiency rates between the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores and the state test scores, lawmakers raised standards, strengthened assessments, and aligned instruction. Tennessee became the fastest-improving state on NAEP from 2011 to 2015, and, by 2024, ranked among the top 25 states in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading. White calls on other states to follow Tennessee’s example and use reliable data to set high expectations and measure whether students are truly on track.
- A new Oklahoma statewide survey found that more than eight in 10 parents value measuring student achievement, seven in 10 support higher cut scores, and 95% say tracking progress matters, yet just 6% are “very confident” in the current system. Rather than rejecting assessment and accountability, parents in Oklahoma are calling for results that communicate a meaningful determination about student and school performance. This sample of Oklahoma parents signals state leaders should set meaningful academic targets for students, clearly communicate their implementation plans and goals, and ensure progress data is easily accessible and digestible for families.
- Writing in The 74, Chad Aldeman made the case that focusing only on average NAEP reading scores can hide important changes in student performance. While there has been a slight increase in top performers, the biggest shift has been at the bottom, with many more students now scoring at the lowest levels.
- Reading scores peaked in 1998 and have steadily declined, reaching a new low in 2024. The result is a flatter distribution, with fewer students in the middle and more struggling readers. This trend highlights a widening achievement gap and underscores the importance of looking beyond averages. To drive meaningful improvement, data must be disaggregated so policymakers can understand who is being served and who is being left behind.
- In response to the Senate HELP Committee’s request for information on K-12 accountability systems, ExcelinEd Senior Policy Fellow Christy Hovanetz argued that systems should prioritize criterion-based growth models that answer a simple question: Did a student master more grade-level content this year than last? By contrast, peer-based models can signal progress even when students remain below grade level. Hovanetz also underscored the importance of annual, statewide assessments to provide comparable data and clear, understandable information for parents about student progress.
- See the Bush Institute’s response to the HELP Committee’s request here.
Bush Institute Insights
- In a time of growing division, pluralism offers a path forward, grounded in the idea that people of different backgrounds and beliefs can live together as equal citizens in a democracy. In a new Bush Institute guide, Chris Walsh, Director of Opportunity and Democracy, and William McKenzie, Senior Editorial Advisor, outline practical steps for leaders to put pluralism into practice, drawing on insights from across sectors. The guide highlights nine actions to foster respectful engagement, strengthen dialogue across differences, and build a more resilient civic culture.
- In her latest piece, Anne Wicks, the Don Evans Family Managing Director of Opportunity and Democracy, shared what she learned from the plenary session she moderated at the PIE Network Executives Meeting last month. Drawing on new Civic Pulse polling and conversations with state advocates, Wicks highlighted a clear tension: Americans are largely satisfied with their own communities but frustrated with the direction of the country. She posited that this dissonance creates an opportunity for state and local engagement, and pointed to practical strategies that work, from engaging policymakers early and often to serving as a trusted source of information and keeping families at the center of education policy conversations.
