Improving reading instruction is one of the hottest topics in K-12 education today. It is also one of the most complex, encompassing pedagogy, policy, and politics -- all rooted in a long history of arguments about the best way to teach kids to read. This analysis is a primer on the "Science of Reading" and efforts to implement it across…

This paper describes the recent policy history of reading education, its place on the public policy agenda, and the research that relates reading policy to reading instruction. Part I of the paper provides a brief recent history of federal education policy, which aims to ensure equity. Part II revisits compensatory education and describes systemic…