RETURN TO EDUCATION REPORT
Colorful childrens' educational game played on a large phone held by cartoon hands with a pink background.
Visual courtesy of Reach Every Reader
Partner Spotlight

Reach Every Reader

The Problem

  • Over half of U.S. children are not proficient readers by the end of third grade. Struggling readers face significant challenges in school and beyond. A student who fails to read adequately in first grade has a 90% probability of reading poorly in 4th grade and a 75% probability of reading poorly in high school.110
  • There has been limited progress in science-based interventions to help students gain reading proficiency, and interventions are often implemented too late to create a successful impact.111

CZI Support

A collaboration between neuroscience and education research teams at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, MIT’s Integrated Learning Initiative, and Florida State University, Reach Every Reader (RER) works to address the urgent and persistent societal challenges of early literacy through five areas of research: pre-literacy skills and early childhood development, screening and diagnostic assessments of literacy development, early intervention and support for developing readers, literacy tools and practices for educators, and scalability and collaboration with other researchers and organizations.

The Impact

RER has reached more than 58,000 children, 28,000 educators and 7,000 parent caregivers in 47 states.112 RER developed, validated and proved effective three mobile apps that promote pre-literacy skills, highlighting the role of conversations in early childhood language development. RER also established the Agile Teacher Lab to provide professional learning for educators at all levels of their career development, including a virtual classroom simulation and a board game to help improve decision-making and promote deeper thinking in the classroom.

RER tools are making an impact in early elementary classrooms. For example, RER’s Interstellar Express Hotshot quick literacy screener is used to determine if a child is at risk for being a struggling reader. The Model of Reading Engagement (MORE) curricular tools lead to lasting improvements in reading comprehension in science, social studies and English language arts. In North Carolina, students who participated in MORE for three years demonstrated higher achievement in reading and math, and the gains persisted after students were no longer receiving MORE lessons.113

Annotations

  1. Data provided by Student Experience Research Network.
  2. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  3. Data provided by Van Ness Elementary School.
  4. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Impact Brief: The Proven Impact of Board Certified Teachers on Student Achievement, Aug. 2017.
  5. Learn more from The Hunt Institute about its One Million Teachers of Color Campaign.
  6. Data provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  7. Platform data for Summit Learning and Along, combined, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  8. Ibid.
  9. Ibid.
  10. Conducted or coordinated by CZI, 2022-2023.
  11. Data provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  12. CZI grants database, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  13. Platform data for Summit Learning, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  14. Ibid.
  15. Ibid.
  16. Summit Learning partner schools in Academic Year 2023-2024.
  17. Ibid.
  18. Platform data for Along, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  19. Ibid.
  20. Along, Research Overview.
  21. Learn more from Search Institute: Developmental Relationships Help Young People Thrive.
  22. Learn more about Black Teacher Collaborative, Character Lab, Greater Good Science Center, GripTape, Re-Imagining Migration, Teach Plus, Understood, and UnidosUS.
  23. Learn more about Leanlab Education.
  24. Transcend, Leaps for Equitable, 21st Century Learning, 2022.
  25. iKeepSafe, Along Earns iKeepSafe COPPA and FERPA Privacy Certification, 2023.
  26. Along, Research Overview.
  27. Platform data for Along, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  28. With support from CZI, Gradient Learning partnered with Leanlab and The Learning Accelerator to better understand the value of Along for teachers and students through a feasibility study. As part of the study, in spring 2023, teachers and students responded to surveys before and after using Along for 2-3 months. Teachers and school leaders participating in the survey received a stipend for their time and participation.
  29. TIME, Best Inventions of 2022: Connecting Teachers and Students, 2022; Fast Company, 14 Projects Making Education More Accessible to Everyone, 2023; Common Sense Education, Best Tools for Back-to-School 2022, 2022; District Administration, Top EdTech Product winners of 2024, Dec. 6, 2023.
  30. Linda Darling-Hammond et al, Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development, Applied Developmental Science, Feb. 17, 2019.
  31. Data provided by Gradient Learning.
  32. Platform data for Summit Learning, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  33. Ibid.
  34. Summit Learning partner schools in Academic Year 2023-2024.
  35. Summit Learning, 2022 Summit Learning Educator Feedback Study, Dec. 6, 2022; Project Tomorrow, Summit Learning 2022 Feedback Study, 2022.
  36. Digital Promise, Digital Promise Announces Newly Certified Edtech Products, Feb. 23, 2022.
  37. Common Sense Education, Privacy Evaluation for Summit Learning, Sept. 19, 2022.
  38. Summit Learning, Success Stories.
  39. Colorado Department of Education, Official Performance Rating, Prairie Heights Middle School, 2022.
  40. Provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  41. CZI grant database, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  42. Provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  43. Ibid.
  44. Student Experience Research Network (SERN), Belonging-Supportive Learning Environments.
  45. Ibid.
  46. SERN, Insights from Research on Student Experience.
  47. SERN, Shaping Policy on Student Experience: Elevating the Leadership of Scholars from Minoritized Groups and Advancing Application of Equity-Centered Scholarship.
  48. Student Experience Research Network, The Evolution and Impact of Student Experience Research Network, May 2023.
  49. SERN, SERN’s Story and Impact.
  50. Search Institute, What We’re Learning About Developmental Relationships.
  51. Search Institute, Developmental Relationships Help Young People Thrive.
  52. Learn more from the Search Institute: New School Year? Jumpstart your Professional Relationships with these ABCs, 2023.
  53. Search Institute, The Power of Relationships in Schools.
  54. Search Institute, Eight Actions to Build Strong Educator-to-Educator Relationships, Jul. 6, 2023.
  55. Data provided by the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF).
  56. Data provided by Digital Promise.
  57. Continuing Education certificates provided through edweb.net.
  58. Data provided by the Science of Learning and Development Alliance.
  59. The Building Bridges Initiative, Signatories.
  60. Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed), Learning Sciences Implementation Guides that Support Student-Centered Learning.
  61. Data provided by All4Ed.
  62. Laura S. Hamilton et al, Supports for Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: Findings From the American Teacher Panel, RAND, 2020.
  63. Teach Plus and The Education Trust, If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How To Disrupt Teacher Turnover, Sept. 2019.
  64. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, The Proven Impact of Board-Certified Teachers on Student Achievement; National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Data Show National Board Certified Teachers Remain in the Classroom.
  65. Data provided by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
  66. Yale Child Study Center, Research Finds Social and Emotional Learning Produces Significant Benefits for Students, Jul. 14, 2023.
  67. Data provided by The Education Collaboratory at Yale.
  68. Learn more from the Learning Policy Institute about its Whole Child Policy Toolkit.
  69. Data provided by Future Focused Education.
  70. Data provided by the Cajon Valley Union School District.
  71. Data provided by the Anaheim Union High School District. Learn more about its Career Preparedness Systems Framework.
  72. BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks), Real Results.
  73. Data provided by Village of Wisdom.
  74. Data provided by the Center for Collaborative Education.
  75. Linda Darling-Hammond et al, Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development, Applied Developmental Science, Feb. 17, 2019.
  76. Data provided by Transcend.
  77. Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), Why.
  78. EOS and The Education Trust, Why Are Black and Latino Students Shut Out of AP STEM Courses?.
  79. Data provided by EOS.
  80. EOS, 2021-22 Year End Report.
  81. Data provided by EOS.
  82. Data provided by GripTape.
  83. GripTape, GripTape’s Impact.
  84. Data provided by the NACA Inspired Schools Network.
  85. Data provided by the American Federation of Teachers.
  86. Data provided by the Assessment for Learning Project (ALP) at the Center for Innovation in Education (C!E).
  87. Leanlab Education, 2022 Annual Report.
  88. The Hunt Institute, Teachers of Color Matter.
  89. Seth Gershenson et al, The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers, National Bureau of Economic Research, Nov. 2018.
  90. Learn more from The Hunt Institute about the DRIVE Task Force.
  91. Data provided by The Hunt Institute.
  92. Data provided by FuelEd.
  93. Sy Doan et al, Teacher Well-Being and Intentions to Leave: Findings From the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey, RAND, Jun. 2023.
  94. Melissa Kay Diliberti et al, Educator Turnover Has Markedly Increased, But Districts Have Taken Actions to Boost Teacher Ranks: Selected Findings From the Sixth American School District Panel Survey, RAND, 2023.
  95. Sy Doan et al, Teacher Well-Being and Intentions to Leave: Findings From the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey, RAND, Jun. 2023.
  96. Elizabeth D. Steiner et al, Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools: Findings From the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys. RAND, 2022.
  97. Data provided by FuelEd.
  98. Daniel Mollenkamp, Why Do So Few Black Men Become Teachers?, EdSurge, Jul. 24, 2023.
  99. Data provided by the Center for Black Educator Development.
  100. Data provided by Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity.
  101. 100Kin10, Our Impact.
  102. Data provided by The Teaching Well.
  103. AASA, The School Superintendents Association, AASA Learning Recovery & Redesign Guidance, Nov. 12, 2021.
  104. Data provided by AASA.
  105. U.S. Department of Education, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER).
  106. AASA, District Checklist: Taking Full Advantage of American Rescue Plan Funds to Identify & Support Students Experiencing Homelessness & Housing Instability, Mar. 29, 2022.
  107. ITSE, Course of Mind.
  108. Deans for Impact, Deepening Meaning and Learning.
  109. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  110. Reach Every Reader, About Us.
  111. Sarah Schwartz, The Most Popular Reading Programs Aren’t Backed by Science, Education Week, Dec. 3, 2019.
  112. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  113. Ibid.
  114. The Nation’s Report Card, Writing 2011.
  115. Perpetual Baffour et al, The Feedback Prize: A Case Study in Assisted Writing Feedback Tools, The Learning Agency Lab.
  116. Data provided by The Learning Agency Lab.
  117. Matthew J. Hirshberg et al, A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Smartphone-Based Well-Being Training in Public School System Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Journal of Educational Psychology, Mar. 17, 2022.
  118. LEAP Innovations, Why Personalized Learning?
  119. Data provided by Mathematica.
  120. Data provided by the Learning Sciences Research Institute.
  121. Learn more from the Next Generation Science Assessment.
  122. Data provided by LearnPlatform.

Founded:

2018

Website:

https://reacheveryreader.gse.harvard.edu/

Mission:

Reach Every Reader’s vision is that all children will be readers with the skills, knowledge and interest to read for learning and pleasure.

“One of my hopes for Reach Every Reader is that we contribute to joyful, equitable and rich learning environments that support thriving readers. Beyond that, we seek a greater understanding of personalized interventions, and of how to leverage children’s talents and strengths and merge that with what they need to succeed. I’m excited to help change the way learning happens, even beyond literacy”

Elizabeth City
Executive Director

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