It’s time to stop debating how to teach kids to read and follow the evidence

Too many teachers are using the wrong approach

Children in a classroom

Many U.S. teachers are not using the most science-based approaches to teach reading.

Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision/Getty Images

On a chilly Tuesday back in January, my 7-year-old son’s classroom in Minneapolis was humming with reading activities. At their desks, first- and second-graders wrote on worksheets, read independently and did phonics lessons on iPads.