What We Know
A majority of students cannot read at grade level.
Despite strong research consensus on how children learn to read, 70% of districts continue to teach literacy skills with methods not backed by science. Families with resources can obtain support outside of school, but poverty prevents most students—disproportionately Black and Hispanic—from accessing similar resources. So the gap widens.
Percentage of US students NOT meeting the reading standards
All students national
65%
Percentage of US students meeting or exceeding the reading standards
35%
Black
Hispanic
23%
Asian
54%
18%
White
45%
*Based on 4th grade literacy scores from The National Assessment of Educational Progress
The Six Pillars of Literacy
Reading skills do not develop naturally—they must be explicitly taught. While some children can find their way through a variety of methods, over 50% will never learn to read without receiving direct, systematic, sequential instruction using the Six Pillars of Literacy:
ORAL LANGUAGE
Exposure to consistent and diverse listening and speaking experiences.
———
Oral language is the foundation of all literacy skills. It builds awareness and understanding of words, sentence structure, social communication rules, and more.
Phonemic Awareness
The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sounds in spoken words.
———
Phonemic awareness is the most reliable predictor of later reading achievement.
Phonics
Recognizing the relationship between sounds and letters, letter combinations, and words.
———
Accurately decoding words reduces the cognitive load and allows the reader to use more mental energy for comprehension.
Fluency
The ability to read with speed, accuracy, and appropriate expression.
———
Fluency is the bridge between decoding and comprehension.
Vocabulary
Understanding words, their definitions, and their context.
———
Readers need to understand 98% of the words to comprehend what they are reading.
Comprehension
Understanding and learning to make meaning of a wide variety of texts.
———
Comprehension is not an automatic or passive process—it is highly interactive and planned.
Structured Literacy
Research shows that structured literacy is essential for many children and beneficial for all. With the right approach, an estimated 95% of children can be taught to read by the end of first grade.
35%
Learning to read is relatively easy through a variety of methods.
40%
Structured Literacy is
BENEFICIAL
5% Learning to read seems effortless.
10–15%
Learning to read is very challenging. It requires explicit, systematic, and sequential instruction informed by frequent assessment, diagnosis, and intervention.
60%
Structured Literacy is
ESSENTIAL
40–50%
Learning to read proficiently is hard. It requires explicit, systematic, and sequential instruction.
Is there a solution to this crisis?
Yes, and it begins with the universal adoption of structured, evidence-based, systematic literacy instruction.
This problem spans race, ethnicity, and economic circumstances—it is not isolated to a single group. FULCRUM is leading a movement to change reading outcomes.