The nature of the literacy assessments valued in the persistent accountability climate within U.S. public education, coupled with an increasingly polarized discourse around what counts as the science of reading (SOR), have resulted in instructional gatekeeping that privileges constrained skill teaching and learning in K-3 settings. The gatekeeper…

The ongoing cycle of educational reform in America has led policymakers and educational leaders to prioritize test-based results and de-prioritize noncognitive skills, equitable outcomes, and crucial socio-emotional aspects of schooling (Lynch et al., 2009). Despite the equitable goals outlined in previous education policy reforms, intended…