structured literacy to retain reading skills

educators work hard all year to provide students with the instruction and practice they need to become strong readers. at the end of the school year, they are thinking about ways to avoid summer learning loss. a new research study on elementary students in lexington public schools in nebraska shows that using explicit, systematic phonics instruction during the school year can decrease summer learning loss by as much as 200 percent and help students retain their reading skills. it builds the case for investing in a high-quality, evidence-based structured literacy program for the 2023-2024 school year.

fulton county is a district to watch, and now you can see their work in action. learn about how school leaders and educators are working together to unlock the power of literacy for every child.

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“we have a roadmap. we can do it. now it is just a matter of having the intestinal fortitude to make sure that, in every classroom across fulton county and hopefully in every state in the nation, change is happening.”

about the school district

glen rose independent school district is a small, rural district outside of fort worth, texas. families who live in the community are often drawn to what the district’s website calls “small town values with big time vision.” the district as a whole has close to 2,000 students and, in k-3, serves about 500 students.

“we are a caring community with a strong sense of unity that empowers and inspires students through innovative education,” said mehgan schuelke, an educational diagnostician and reading specialist for glen rose.

challenge

recently house bill 3 was passed in the state of texas, requiring that all districts shift to a phonics-based curriculum for reading instruction. all k–3 teachers and principals must complete the state’s professional learning program, “reading academies,” by 2023, for guidance on implementing the science of reading in their classrooms. the science of reading is at the center of a growing movement in education that calls for more effective reading instruction. its evidence-based approach helps educators develop students’ literacy skills through phonics instruction.

“we were seeing a real lack of growth in reading skills among students,” said schuelke. “we knew something needed to change.”

solution

as they began preparing for the shift to phonics in the fall of 2021, schuelke worked with her curriculum director to create a rubric for their new method of instruction, structured literacy, and determine the resources they needed to support their new criteria. after a review of options, they chose 95 percent’s phonics core program™ for whole-class instruction, along with 95 phonological awareness screener for intervention™ and 95 phonics screener for intervention™.

“the key things our rubric called for were explicit teaching practices and progress monitoring,” said schuelke. “95 percent group’s offerings met all the criteria we needed and provided turnkey solutions for students at different stages of their reading journey.”

result

in 2021–2022, many students had started school with below average literacy skills. schuelke and her colleagues, therefore, planned to assess students as quickly as possible and place them into intervention groups, as appropriate.

“using the 95 percent group assessments was efficient and effective,” she said “actually this is the first time i have seen phonics assessments used in such a consistent, successful way.”

during the year, they wanted to progress as many students as possible from intervention into whole class instruction. and they did.

“so many of our second grade teachers said to me midyear: “oh my gosh, this is working!” said schuelke.

by the end of the year, they had reached another important benchmark.

“by june, we had more than 85% of our second graders students in tier 1, whole-class instruction. this is such a critical learning year for kids, and we had a lot of ground to make up after the pandemic’s disruptions. we were thrilled to reach this goal,” she said.

advice for other educators

change is not always easy in school, especially when teachers have been doing something a certain way for a while. they don’t like feeling as though they are “experimenting” with their students’ education, especially when it comes to something as critical as reading.

“teachers can be hesitant when it comes to change,” she said. “show your teachers the evidence that this structured literacy approach works. have them talk to another teacher from another school. get them the training they need. at the end of the day educators are learners too. so help us learn, and give us great resources.”

from there, it didn’t take too much more convincing at glen rose.

“our teachers accepted this new approach quickly and really enjoyed it. they saw the progress their students were making clearly and quickly,” she said.

the specific breakdown of improvement was remarkable. in the beginning of the year, they had 37% of kindergarteners, 25% of first graders, and 30% of second grades identified as at-risk readers. by the end of the year, those numbers had changed dramatically: only 12% of kindergarteners, 11% of first graders, and 15% of second graders were at risk.

closing thoughts

schuelke commented that one of the best aspects of working with 95 percent group is that its suite of offerings is “cohesive and consistent.” once the teacher and student know the routine from using one of the reading products, they and their students can move seamlessly into using another of the company’s offerings. the products are all designed to work together intentionally in an “ecosystem,” with each one offering a consistent structure for instruction and learning.

“this means less time going over the rules of the game, and more time focusing on the actual learning experience,” she said.

and her final, closing thought?

“reading should be a joyful experience for students,” she said. “and this is.”

learn more

are you interested in learning about how you can bring an effective and efficient structured literacy approach, grounded in the science of reading, to your school or district? contact us today.

when it comes to literacy instruction, an evidence-based curriculum and best practices matter

a few years ago, we often heard from educators that they were adapting 95 percent group’s intervention products for their tier 1 instruction. teachers are experts in making the most out of the resources they have. but 95 percent group listened to them and understood this as an important call to action. in 2020, 95 phonics core program® launched to help teachers serve all of their students better and specifically meet the needs of tier 1 phonics instruction.

“about 80 to 85% of the class needs to be taught well in the core program, which leaves fewer kids for intervention in tiers 2 and 3,” said laura stewart, chief academic officer for 95 percent group.

95 percent group also added a complementary technology tool to the program—digital and interactive html files—to enhance the whole-class experience and also support remote and hybrid experiences. today these digital files are saving teachers time, promoting student engagement, and ensuring consistent, high-quality instruction across classrooms and schools.

the combination of 95 percent group’s knowledge in the science of reading and in the science of learning creates significant opportunities for educators and students. as you evaluate and make important decisions about the instructional materials in your school or district’s literacy toolkit, make sure academic excellence is your top priority. keep this in mind: research alignment is not enough. your literacy programs should be evidence-based and evidence-proven to accelerate literacy skills. here is what the evidence says about how to teach children to read at grade level and how to bring it into practice in your school and classroom.

provide explicit, direct instruction

one key design element of the 95 phonics core program is its approach to explicit and direct instruction of phonics that forms the basis of the 95 percent group product offering. study after study proves the same thing: explicit and systematic phonics instruction is more effective than unsystematic or no phonics instruction, especially with at-risk readers. according to the national reading panel, first-grade students who were taught systematic phonics instruction were better at decoding and spelling and, therefore, better able to comprehend texts (2001). with the 95 phonics core program, students are being taught the right content at the right time. students in kindergarten to 3rd grade acquire essential foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, decoding, and word/passage reading fluency. the core program provides students with ample practice opportunities that reinforce the explicit teaching of phonics patterns:

• by using manipulatives (colored chips)
• by using gestures for the syllable types
• by reinforcing learning with the reading-writing connection through word chaining, writing words in sound boxes, and writing sentences from dictation
• sound spelling identification through mapping and dictation of high-frequency words

deploy multimodal learning

95 phonics core program was designed with diverse learners in mind. because it is a tier 1 curriculum, it incorporates multisensory learning into the lessons by using gestures and manipulatives. making education multisensory helps deeper learning, benefiting students most in need. for example, students with dyslexia need more opportunities to develop “adequate and automatic integration of letters and speech sounds” (blomert & froyen, 2010). in the curriculum, multiple senses reinforce concepts. with the help of 95 phonics chip kits, teachers gain the tools and strategies to explain phonics patterns, which allows scholars to visualize abstract concepts and makes their learning more concrete. using hands-on phonics chip movements advances phonemic awareness to an automatic level. students move the colored chips into sound boxes to represent words the teacher dictates; after mapping the sounds in a word, students write the letters in the appropriate sound boxes in the student workbook. throughout each lesson, students are expected to respond during whole-class instruction through call and response to increase phonemic awareness and use gestures (v-shape, closed fist, open fist, etc.) for syllable types.

support guided practice

95 percent group employs guided practice through gradual release of responsibility (grr), first introduced by pearson and gallagher to provide differentiated instruction for all students. the purpose of gradual release is to slowly pull away scaffolds in a way that makes all students feel successful. each lesson begins with a teacher-led activity where students are expected to engage in a series of verbal repetitions to increase their phonemic awareness (national reading panel, 2000). educators then transition with an explicit think-aloud of skill as the “i do” portion of the phonics instruction. during this lesson phase, the educator facilitates a mediated opportunity for students to practice the new skill. finally students are released independently to practice with manipulatives and are given several at-bats. through the gradual release model’s continuous teacher-student interaction, teachers can differentiate and scaffold as necessary. this allows teachers to spend as much—or as little—time as necessary on a given skill. the ‘we do’ and ‘you do’ phase allows educators to provide valuable, instant feedback to students (rosenshine, 2012). moving students forward as quickly as possible, but as slowly as necessary, is key to effective intervention instruction.

nurture interactive learning

95 percent group has also made a deep investment in research both to inform the development of its offerings and to demonstrate their efficacy to educators around the country. the curriculum comes with research-based routines and digital, html files to ensure the highest quality of instruction. digital files may seem simple, but their impact is huge. when the science of reading, science of learning, and technology intersect, they create a unique experience that provides limitless opportunities for educators and students within the classroom. with interactive files that keep educators and students on pace during their lessons and with student-centered activities that require a response from each student (call and response, gestures, manipulatives), learning outcomes are higher than in classrooms that do not engage in interactive learning strategies (javed & odhabi, 2018). this technology holds students and educators accountable to staying on pace and delivering succinct instruction with consistent terminology and routines.

phonics should no longer be taught through a “drill and kill” learning environment. perky-paced routines give students a number of opportunities for deep learning. and the results say it all. regardless of geographic location, duration of time, or stand-alone vs. group intervention, 95 phonics core program has garnered positive growth on post-assessments. but 95 phonics core program is the starting point for nurturing an interactive learning environment. 95 percent group continues to build a community of trust and learning alongside educators who desire to grow their knowledge of the science of reading and improve instructional practices together.

learn more

95 percent group regularly sponsors third-party research by independent literacy evaluation firms to measure the effectiveness of their programs. learn more and download the efficacy studies.

student snapshot

• grades: kindergarten to second grades
• size: 498 students
• 54% black/african american
• 8% special education
• 15% english language learners
• 75% economic disadvantage

the challenge: opportunity gap

during the pandemic, the opportunity gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students’ literacy skills widened. national reporting revealed that the gap in students reading on grade level had grown by 3 points from before the pandemic to fall 2021. for wicomico county public schools, the gap had grown even more significantly during that same time period—to eight times greater than the national average for first grade students. wicomico county is a geographically and demographically diverse school district in maryland that had received $47.4 million in esser funds to support recovery from the pandemic (edunomics lab at georgetown, 2022). estimates from georgetown university  indicate that students at wicomico lost an average of 15 weeks of learning in reading from spring 2020 to spring 2021.

solutions

• tier 1 phonics: 95 phonics core program®
• tier 2: 95 phonics chip kit™
• tier 3: 95 phonological awareness lessons deluxe™ & 95 phonics lesson library™
• assessments: 95 phonological awareness screener™ for intervention, 95 phonics screener for intervention™

district leaders, in partnership with the literacy team, took swift and decisive action. they all participated in professional learning on the science of reading and then decided to pilot 95 percent group’s products from the company’s literacy ecosystem in one elementary school (a school that has grades k-1 only) during the 2020-2021 school year. based upon the results, they subsequently rolled out these products to all of their schools in 2021-2022, including 17 elementary schools. in 2022-2023, they continue to rely on 95 percent group products and even expanded their ecosystem to include additional resources: multisyllable routine cards package™, 95 vocabulary surge™, 95 comprehension toolkit™, 95 teaching blending®, and 95 phonics skills series short vowels™.

a story of reading progress

when renee hall, supervisor of reading k-5, joined wicomico county public schools, the literacy team had been using a variety of literacy products for their intervention offerings. reading was a deficit for many of their students, and getting the right, phonics-based instruction in place was a priority. so they took one of the best next steps that educators can take (and often do so well): learn from one another.

“we were struggling with moving our students forward using the tools we had. we had heard about a neighboring district who was using 95 percent group products and visited their classrooms to see it in action,” she said. “it was terrific to see what strong intervention really looks like.”

95 percent group’s one95® literacy ecosystem® is a cohesive suite of resources and professional learning services that is aligned with the science of reading and evidence-based. recently the company’s flagship product, 95 phonics core program, earned a listing on the highly regarded evidence for essa website, and overall the company’s range of products have met a high level of rigorous federal standards under the every student succeeds act (essa) act.

challenge

the school district as a whole has been focused on school improvement. in 2019, the texas education agency gave the district’s schools ratings ranging from c to f. the superintendent’s ultimate goal has been to achieve a ratings across the board. among the necessary curricular improvements was a new approach to reading instruction districtwide. the existing reading program for k-3 was not explicit and systematic and was not meeting students’ needs.

solution

in fall of 2021, the district’s elementary school teachers participated in 95 percent group’s professional learning course on the science of reading, which helped them learn the evidence-based approach to developing literacy skills through phonics instruction. to turn their new knowledge into practice, they began using the 95 phonics core program™ for whole-class instruction.

result

during summer of 2022, the district received exciting news that its overall rating had gone up to a b rating, and it had been named among the region’s best-performing public school districts. there were many areas of improvement, with reading being an important one at the elementary level. k-3 teachers used their new 95 percent group reading resources consistently during 2021–2022 and continue to use them in 2022–2023. they have appreciated the progress they have seen with students. one champion in particular is julie groce, a first grade teacher at gallardo elementary school.

“i am an independent thinker. but if there is evidence to make a change in what i am doing, i am on board. if i see a better, more efficient, scientific approach, i will use it. and this one is. it has really changed how i teach for the better,” she said. “rote memorization was not working. this is working.”

one student stood out to groce.

“this one student came in not knowing any letters and sounds,” she said. “in october 2021, he started using 95 percent group’s instructional material and his reading just took off. he went through leaps and bounds.”

95 percent group’s offerings are part of an ecosystem that helps teachers support all students and provide a consistent learning routine based on the gradual release of responsibility model. the core program’s whole-class instruction is part of a 30-week comprehensive reading and language arts curriculum. resources include fully-scripted teacher’s editions, student workbooks, manipulatives, digital presentations, and assessments. groce appreciates how easy and turnkey they all are.

“i love using sound boxes and chips and my students have really taken to these,” she said. “it’s really tactile and helps them make connections between moving the chip and writing each grapheme in their workbook. that is an important connection.”

the 95 phonics chip kit™ helps teachers explain phonics patterns using manipulatives and sound-spelling mapping. groce says she first uses the chips with the whole class, then breaks students into small groups based upon where they are and what gaps they need to fill in tier 1.

“having a strong strategy like this in tier 1 is your best defense against more kids moving into tiers 2 or 3,” she said.

advice for her peers

“give this a try! you won’t regret it,” said groce. “of all the new curricula i have been asked to implement, 95 percent group is by far my favorite. it has made the most sense. it was so easy to make the change because it works. it gets kids reading, and it also helps them enjoy it.”

she and her colleagues took to the new approach very quickly, as the professional learning was “super helpful and extremely straightforward.” but she suggests educators give themselves about six weeks to get fully comfortable with using this new method in class.

“keep the end goal in mind. this will turn your students into readers, and that is the goal.”

learn more

are you interested in learning about how you can bring an effective and efficient structured literacy approach, grounded in the science of reading, to your school or district? contact us today.

the challenge

national reporting that measured the opportunity gap from before the pandemic to fall 2021 showed a slight dip in students across the country reading on grade level. for wicomico county public schools, the loss was two to three times greater than the national average (an eight-point difference across each grade level). the district needed to bring transformational change to their reading instruction. and they did.

the solution

95 phonics core program provided wicomico educators with an explicit phonics program to add into their daily reading block. it ensured that all k-3 students received consistent evidence–based phonics instruction to improve outcomes. the district’s schools also aligned instructional methods and learning routines across tiers by also using the 95 phonics chip kit for their tier 2 structured literacy support.

the results

students using 95 phonics core program in year 2 saw higher gains than students in year 1 (8% to 35% in grade 2, and 9% to 29% in grade 3). in year two, the percentage of students on or above benchmark more than doubled from fall to spring using the 95 phonics core program. read more below.