In 2000, the National Reading Panel report identified five essential components of effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Yet a new study of university-based teacher preparation programs finds that few cover these components, leaving teachers without research-based expertise. (Contains 2…

Academic testing observed in a year-long study of kindergarten classes in 15 districts was primarily concerned with whether children were succeeding with the content of a basal reader readiness workbook that essentially dealt with phonics. Such success was viewed as a prerequisite for the first preprimer in the basal series, the use of which…