ABC News: How Phonics Is Making a Comeback as Millions of Kids Struggle to Read

Learning to read is not an enjoyable experience for all school children. Roughly one-third of fourth graders in America read at or below the basic level, according to the Education Department’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). What is worse is that the older children get, the harder it is for them to catch up, meaning time is of the essence.

This problem is not new; in fact, it has been present in America for decades.

Many believe phonics is the solution. Phonics gives students the tools they need to sound out a word and break it down into manageable chunks. While phonics used to be popular, it went out of fashion and is only now starting to make a resurgence.

Carla Pleasant, a 33-year educator in Ohio, knows phonics to be an effective method for teaching reading. In a school that did not use phonics, however, she chose to keep her methods under wraps at first. "Keeping it secret from the bosses, but getting success in the classroom," Pleasant told ABC news. "I knew it was working. I knew that memorizing things and just pushing things on kids was not going to teach them to love reading."

Some time after Pleasant’s method behind her success was exposed, a new administration followed her phonics-focused instruction, leading to huge improvements schoolwide.

Ten years ago, Mississippi’s fourth graders were ranked last in reading nationally. Today, however, they are ranked 21st in literacy. This was made possible by educators pushing for methods such as phonics to become embedded in the curriculum.

Louisiana Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley realized a change was needed. Thus, Louisiana has begun a reading initiative that included a program offering students $1,000 towards private reading tutoring, which local fourth grader D’Mekeus Jr. uses to regularly attend tutoring sessions at a Sylvan Learning Center. Sylvan Learning Center hopes to support students as early as possible to guide them to success.

"[Students and parents] are so excited, and they cry in my office, because it's life changing," said Christy Sharon, owner of the Sylvan Learning Center D’Mekeus Jr. attends.

There are now at least 30 states that require phonics-based policies in an attempt to improve reading levels across the nation.

To read the full article and watch the video, click here. 

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