Welcome back to the George W. Bush Institute’s education newsletter, where we explore how evidence-based literacy policy, meaningful assessments, and accountability work together to improve student outcomes.
This month, we look at how states are turning policy into practice, from identifying struggling readers early and strengthening instruction to using assessment data to expand educational opportunities for students. As states gain greater flexibility over policy and funding, transparency and accountability remain essential to ensuring all students are well served by our schools.
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Thank you for reading.
Monthly snapshot
About 88% of students who struggle to read in first grade will still struggle in fourth grade
For decades, schools have relied on third-grade state assessments as a key accountability checkpoint to identify students struggling to read. Jessica Reid Sliwerski argues in EdSource that waiting until third grade allows early literacy gaps to grow, making intervention more difficult and costly. Districts should identify struggling readers as early as first grade and provide them with intensive, individualized tutoring and other targeted supports.
State spotlight
Wyoming builds a statewide literacy system
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed Senate File 59 into law, creating a statewide K-12 literacy system focused on evidence-based instruction, early intervention, and teacher development. The law aims to identify struggling readers sooner, strengthen support for students with dyslexia, and create greater consistency across districts. Its passage follows nearly a decade of work by educators, families, lawmakers, and literacy advocates.
“You might think passing the law would be the end, but really it is the beginning,” said Annie McGlothlin, co-founder of WYO Right to Read. The challenge now is strong implementation – turning the new requirements into effective classroom practice and better outcomes for students.
Science of reading
- Writing in The 74, Debbie Meyer and Christina Rodriguez argue that too many students with dyslexia or other reading difficulties rely on costly private evaluations and tutoring because schools do not identify and address their needs early enough. The authors call this network of private services the “dyslexia industrial complex,” which can put families with fewer resources at a disadvantage. They argue that fragmented implementation of the science of reading contributes to the problem and call on districts to align instruction, teacher training, assessments, and interventions with evidence-based reading practices so struggling students receive effective help at school.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a law requiring all reading and language arts teachers to complete science-of-reading training by the 2031-32 school year, Bridge Michigan reports. The state is investing an additional $75 million in training to support the effort. “Literacy is a marathon, it’s not a miracle,” Whitmer said. “It will take time, but if we give every child a strong early start, using proven methods, offering extra help, we can ensure that every child can read.”
Measurement matters
- After Texas adopted an automatic enrollment policy in 2023, the share of seventh graders taking advanced math doubled, to 32% in 2026 from 16% in 2023. The law automatically places students who score in the top 40% on the fifth-grade state math assessment into advanced coursework beginning in sixth grade. Participation among low-income students more than doubled, while math proficiency also increased across all middle school grades. The early results show how states can use assessment data to identify capable students and expand access to more rigorous coursework.
- Tennessee students continued to improve on the 2026 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), with English-language arts and math proficiency now above pre-pandemic levels. From 2025 to 2026, proficiency across third through eighth grades increased to 40.6% from 38.9% in English-language arts and to 43% from 42.2% in math. Third grade English-language arts saw the largest gain, rising 3.2 percentage points. State officials credit early literacy training, summer learning, high-dosage tutoring, and professional learning for educators as contributors to the progress.
- Arkansas became the first state to receive concurrent federal approval for its “Returning Education to the States” waiver, a Title I-A state plan amendment, and Ed-Flex authority. Arkansas’s plan allows the state to consolidate more than $8.8 million across four federal funding streams over four years, gives rural districts additional flexibility over federal funds, reduces duplicate testing for students taking advanced coursework, and more closely aligns state and federal accountability systems. Supporters say the changes will reduce administrative burdens and give state and local leaders more flexibility to direct resources toward student needs. Critics worry that combining funding streams could weaken protections for dollars intended for specific student groups and make it harder to track whether those resources are reaching the students they were designed to serve. As Arkansas puts these changes into practice, the key question is whether greater flexibility can improve student outcomes while maintaining transparency and support for students with the greatest needs.
Bush Institute insights
- As America marks its 250th anniversary, President George W. Bush reflects on the freedoms and civic responsibilities that have sustained the country. He points to service, community engagement, and active citizenship as essential to preserving those ideals and strengthening the nation for the next generation.
- In an op-ed, Anne Wicks, Don Evans Managing Director of Opportunity and Democracy, highlights that AI is expected to transform nearly 25% of jobs by 2030. She notes that American students are falling behind in math, amidst debates about the value of degrees. Wicks urges Governors to align education, workforce, and economic policies to better prepare young people. She points to the opportunity toolkit published by the Bush Institute, which offers strategies on how Governors can achieve this integration. Emphasizing that education should extend beyond mere job training, she advocates for ensuring youth develop skills and pathways—be it college, military, or workforce—that enable economic and civic success.
