As of today, the science of reading has won the argument of how we teach our children to read. Forty-two states now have laws on the books that align instructional materials and teacher professional development to the science of reading, and states like Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee have proven that when adults change how they teach, scores can climb across the board. But while legislation can create the conditions for change, it is implementation that determines the degree to which students experience the change itself.

This is the case we make in Bookways: From Bills to Bookworms, our new policy brief authored by VP of Policy Liz Cohen. This new report lays out seven problems and nineteen practical solutions to those problems that states can pursue no matter where they are on their literacy journey.