The Power of Deliberate Reading Practice

Teachers and educational leaders know that achieving reading proficiency requires more than the acquisition of individual skills. Just as athletes and dancers rely on expert instruction, consistent coaching, and dedicated practice to hone their physical abilities, students need guidance and practice to develop and refine their reading and writing skills. With the right support, students can train their minds and fuel their self-confidence to become strong, capable readers and writers who consistently meet the demands of grade-level curriculum and enjoy reading for all the life-enhancing pleasure it can bring. 

Ongoing Reading Practice is Critical 

In today’s classrooms, in which teachers have many competing demands on their time, the critical role of reading practice can sometimes be overlooked. Teacher-directed instruction and skill practice to reinforce recently taught concepts are understandably prioritized. However, research consistently points to the importance of ensuring that students engage in regular reading practice with connected text (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000) and has emphasized the essential role of reading volume in literacy development. When students consistently spend substantial amounts of time reading texts at the appropriate level, they can apply and integrate skills learned while strengthening vocabulary and increasing fluency and comprehension (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998). 

What is Deliberate Practice—and How Does it Apply to Reading? 

Research in expert performance in fields like music, chess, and athletics has found that deliberate practice—characterized by individualized goals, immediate feedback and coaching, and data-driven adjustments—leads to expert-level performance (Ericsson et al., 1993; Lehmann & Ericsson, 1996). Applying this concept to reading could have a powerful impact. In fact, Dweck’s work on growth mindset (2006), Duckworth and colleagues’ research on grit (2007, 2011), and Ericsson and Pool’s exploration of deliberate practice principles in fields such as education (2016) all suggest that deliberate reading practice could greatly benefit students as they move through the various stages of reading development to become fluent, confident readers. 

Deliberate reading practice involves: 

• Appropriately challenging texts within the student’s zone of proximal development, or “stretch zone” 
• Clear instructional goals tailored to the student’s specific needs 
• The student reading aloud to a teacher or trained tutor who provides immediate corrective feedback and coaching 
• Insights from assessments or practice sessions that guide future instruction. 

If resources were unlimited, every student working toward reading proficiency would regularly engage in deliberate reading practice with a teacher or trained tutor. While this is possible in some settings, it is unrealistic for most educators to provide every student with such individualized attention. Here, educational technology can play a valuable role. By judiciously leveraging tools—especially those using carefully designed, intentionally constrained artificial intelligence—students can engage in high-impact reading practice while teachers receive actionable data and insights. This approach makes the vision of personalized, deliberate reading practice for every student both achievable and realistic. 

EPS Reading Assistant: Scaling Deliberate Reading Practice for Every Student 

Reading Assistant is an AI-driven digital tutor that brings the power of deliberate reading practice within reach for every student. It begins with a 5-in-1 adaptive assessment—approved by 24 state departments of education—that screens for early literacy and dyslexia risk, offers diagnostic insights, and provides benchmark and placement data. Available in English and Spanish, the assessment ensures each student is matched with texts in their individual zone of proximal development. 

As students read self-selected texts out loud, Reading Assistant delivers real-time corrective feedback and micro-interventions to support accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. The adaptive platform dynamically responds to each student’s performance, offering appropriately challenging practice along with the scaffolds each student needs. Students build confidence and competence through independent reading practice, while educators receive actionable data for progress monitoring and data-driven instruction.   

Reading Assistant can be used flexibly across instructional settings:  

• As a companion to any Tier 1 literacy program 
• As part of EPS Reading Accelerator for Tier 2 intervention 
• As an addition to SPIRE for Tier 3 and special education support 

By harnessing adaptive technology and safe, intentionally constrained AI, Reading Assistant makes personalized, deliberate reading practice scalable and sustainable so that all students can develop the reading proficiency they need to fully engage in school—and in life beyond.