Most educators and educational leaders are passionate about literacy and the opportunities reading creates. Reading expands knowledge, invites curiosity, builds empathy, and opens doors throughout life. We all want students to become confident, capable readers—and when they struggle, we want to provide the support that will help them move forward.
Fortunately, schools have access to more evidence-based literacy resources than ever before. Yet there can be an understandable assumption that once a strong curriculum or evidence-based intervention program is selected and introduced, the hardest work is done. In fact, research suggests that selecting high-quality instructional materials is only one part of the equation.
Two important publications offer valuable reminders and practical guidance, especially when considering the needs of older striving readers. The Institute of Education Science’s (IES) Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4-9 practice guide describes the instructional elements that support literacy development for striving readers in upper elementary and secondary grades. Meanwhile, EdReports’ Beyond Selection: Rethinking How Districts Adopt Curriculum emphasizes that adopting high-quality instructional materials is only the beginning of improving literacy outcomes. Together, these resources reinforce two essential ingredients of successful literacy instruction: well-matched support and strong implementation.
The IES practice guide offers four research-based recommendations for supporting striving readers in grades 4-9:
- build students’ decoding skills so they can read complex multisyllabic words
- develop reading fluency
- strengthen comprehension through routine practices, word study, and knowledge-building
- provide regular opportunities to engage with challenging “stretch” text.
What makes the guide particularly valuable is its emphasis that these evidence-based practices can work together across general education and intervention settings to support comprehensive literacy development. Underlying all four recommendations is the importance of understanding students’ current levels of functioning and their most urgent literacy needs so that educators can deliver well-matched instruction and intervention for impact. Different barriers to grade-level literacy require different instructional responses, and this makes accurate identification of a student’s most urgent needs a prerequisite for meaningful growth.
EdReports’ Beyond Selection report highlights a pattern familiar to many district and school leaders: confidence in the selection process does not always translate into confidence in what happens next. Among the more than 250 district leaders and educators surveyed, 72% expressed confidence in their ability to identify and adopt high-quality instructional materials, yet only 59% reported having processes to assess curriculum effectiveness during implementation. Nearly half (48%) identified implementing purchased curriculum materials as one of the greatest challenges. These findings reinforce what implementation science research has clarified: educator buy-in, sustained professional learning, and systems and ongoing practices that support effective implementation are essential if high-quality instructional materials are to produce high-quality outcomes.
Taken together, these publications remind us that improving literacy isn’t simply about selecting the right intervention program. It requires understanding striving readers’ individual instructional needs, providing support to address the needs, and creating the conditions for intervention to be delivered consistently. Well-matched support—implemented well—is what changes the trajectory for a reader.
