{"id":16611,"date":"2024-02-15T08:58:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T16:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?p=16611"},"modified":"2026-03-11T09:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T16:21:20","slug":"the-science-of-reading-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2024\/the-science-of-reading-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The science of reading explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For years now, the early literacy education community has been talking about the need to reform our practice to align to the science of reading. But what is the science of reading? And how can it improve our practice so kids become better readers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the science of reading?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The science of reading is the converging evidence of what matters and what works in literacy instruction, organized around models that describe how and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One research study does not make a science. In early literacy alone, tens of thousands of studies have been published, and some even show results that are at odds with one another. For educators to be able to consume research meaningfully, we need to look for a convergence of evidence. When many well-designed studies point to a similar result, we should pay attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does it help us make sense of reading?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An important model in early reading research is the Simple View of Reading<\/a>. It says that reading comprehension (RC) is the product of decoding (D) and language comprehension (LC), or RC = D x LC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RC = D x LC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning to read for understanding requires sounding out and recognizing words\u2014decoding\u2014but it also requires making meaning of the words and sentences we hear\u2014language comprehension. While taking a microscope to any one aspect of reading reveals more complexity, the simple view continues to be supported<\/a> as a strong core model in reading development, as it has been for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What guidance does the science of reading offer? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research is clear about what matters to teach in early literacy instruction: phonological awareness<\/a>, phonics<\/a> and word recognition, fluency<\/a>, vocabulary<\/a> and oral language comprehension, and text comprehension. For each of these, a convergence of evidence tells us what works, in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n