Elizabeth Brown

Unlock your reading and spelling potential, learn more about the Science of Reading. thephonicspage.org Gain years of progress in just 10 hours with our free video lessons. Phonics to the 12th grade level. thephonicspage.org/syllables-less…

🚨 5 years post-COVID: Public middle schoolers (13-year-olds) still can’t read or do math at pre-pandemic levels. NAEP data shows 8th-grade reading stagnant near 1971 lows and math down sharply from recent highs. Fourth-graders recovered somewhat, but the middle-school slump is real. So what’s my fix? • Embrace the sciences of reading, writing, math & learning, delivered with evidence-based explicit Direct Instruction • Overhaul Colleges of Education & teacher prep programs • Rigorous, enforced compliance with all federal education laws (e.g., IDEA) Refocus on fundamentals, high expectations, device-free classrooms (i.e., Chromebooks, iPads), high-dosage evidence-based tutoring, and parent-directed school choice. American kids deserve better than adults’ excuses. #LiteracyIsEquity in education. 🇺🇸

How can schools improve literacy? “…every state absolutely should focus on the Science of Reading, and adopt FORT (Foundations of Reading Test) as a requirement for ELA teacher licensure. Literature content and the Science of Reading need to go hand in hand. We need reform in both areas—in state standards, in teacher licensure, and in every aspect of ELA instruction.”

@RachelVT42 When we lived in Albuquerque, we had a swamp cooler. You could run it as much as you want for $5 a month!! Only works in very dry climates. We were amazed at how efficient it was. Simple design, too, pretty much unchanged since its invention, just updated pumps and motors.

Some of our neighbors when we lived in Germany thought A/C was unhealthy, avoided for health reasons. With the thick walls and Rolladens, our house there wasn't too bad even on the hottest days but we prefer A/C!! It is necessary in the US South with our building standards and the high heat and humidity, but my parents got A/C when they got older even in a climate that doesn't normally require A/C except a few summer days.

Oh no, Claude must be anti European for pointing this out, or something.

@anenglishteachr @LizStepan You could combine it with some of the word pairs in the free First lessons in speech improvement, I downloaded the PDF, looks great! archive.org/details/firstl…

@PhonicsMom @LizStepan Ooo exciting. I will explore. You always have the best resources

@anenglishteachr @LizStepan I found what looks like a user friendly website that does spectrograms and waveforms for speech. I had been using a birding app, Raven Lite, this looks easier to use and is aimed at human, not bird speech! speechandhearing.net/laboratory/was…

Although, the underlying technology for recording birdsong and human speech is the same, this WASP product has more options geared to human speech analysis. speechandhearing.net/laboratory/was…

Carl Hendrick explains there IS a science of writing, but it's messier than reading science. Reading has one key: connecting letters to sounds. Writing is juggling many things at once—spelling, grammar, ideas, organization. Research shows the best way to teach writing is starting with sentences, not essays. Use simple exercises like extending thoughts with "because," "but," "so." Teach explicit strategies step-by-step. This helps all kids, especially those without language-rich homes. open.substack.com/pub/carlhendri…

@rodjnaquin 1/ Based on @ehanford’s recent posts, it’s more complex than low quality curricula. Schools need strong leadership to de-implement low value practices & schools may need support w/ the implementation piece. High quality curricula + high leverage practices.

Karen Vaites reviews a new reading instruction report showing that despite state laws banning bad teaching methods, many teachers still use them. Good reading programs help teachers learn better practices, but states keep approving low-quality curricula. The takeaway: passing education laws doesn't automatically change what happens in classrooms. With 2% of all US workers being teachers, real change requires long-term support and training, not just policy mandates. karenvaites.org/p/the-new-ford…

More evidence of how teacher prep programs are a huge problem in education: "A new report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) contends that the state’s stagnant reading scores and ongoing teacher shortage stem from the same root problem: inconsistent preparation of new teachers in how to teach reading." Link below.

One can't stress enough how the poor preparation of teachers by their teacher preparation programs is the root of many of the problems in our educational system. If we want to significantly improve education, teacher preparation programs will have to place greater emphasis on effective teaching and a set higher minimum standard for their graduates.

Parents, be careful. It's not just happening in VA, although they are one of the biggest offenders. If you want to see how NAEP results compare to state assessment results, we have the charts for you. We compare 4th grade reading and math and 8th grade reading and math for every state in the country. We have them for the 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024 tests so you can see it's a pattern, not a fluke. These PDFs can be downloaded, shared and printed. Give them to your local school board, district and school leaders, and anyone else who wants to improve our public ed system and knows we can if we put our mind to it.

VA parents take heed and speak up. VA is trying to pull another fast one after misleading parents and the public for years. @LCPSDoBetter

Many Pa. colleges aren’t properly training future teachers how to teach reading, a report finds inquirer.com/education/teac…

What future is there for a generation of children that can’t read?

So many people who struggle with math, struggle because they're treating mathematics as something to consume. Like a movie to watch or a book to read. You consume it, reflect on it, discuss it, and move on. But mathematics is closer to weightlifting: something to train. You have to repeatedly solve problems. There is no substitute for those reps.

A friend recently asked why I follow so many educators and education researchers outside the United States. I explained that they tend to be less influenced by progressive education ideology and more influenced by the research and practices that have produced real progress in teaching and learning. I’m cautiously optimistic that this research and the practices that align with it are slowly making their way into American classrooms, but we still have a long way to go. I’ll keep following closely what’s going on “across the pond” and “down under” and the people who are making it happen because it gives me hope. I hope others here will do the same.

Suggesting test scores just mirror socioeconomic status completely ignores real world policy victories in places like Houston and Mississippi.

5 Years Post-Covid, Public Middle Schoolers Still Can’t Read Or Do Math thefederalist.com/2026/06/22/5-y…