Phonics is the key to teaching children to read

"Teaching children to read is harder than making rockets fly," Dr. Donald Langenberg once proclaimed. And Dr. Langenberg would know. He’s a physicist who has worked in the field of "rocket science" and served as chairman of the National Reading Panel. Dr. Langenberg’s observation sheds light on the difficult task we ask of our nation’s teachers.

In 1998, the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 42 percent of fourth-graders read below basic levels. This means that almost half of our 9-year-olds will struggle to read this sentence. Some of them won’t be able to read it at all. To any parent who has a child in school, that is a discouraging prospect. A child’s success in school -- and in life -- is dependent upon his or her ability to read.

Science tells us that if a child is not reading by fourth grade, he or she is not likely to catch up and is more likely to give up. A child who can’t read will not be able to solve math problems or unravel the mystery of science. Reading is the fundamental building block. So, why are so many of our children falling short?

Part of the problem is that for years teachers have been barraged with conflicting information -- all claiming scientific basis -- about how children can best learn to read.

One study says kids should sound out words, while another claims that immersion in literature is best. One researcher recommends that children should read silently, while another advises reading aloud.

Our teachers are frustrated by the lack of clarity, and who can blame them? They don’t need statistics to tell them that too many of our children can’t read. Our teachers are in the trenches each day with youngsters of varying ability and needs. They know that a 6-year-old is 6 only one time and that we urgently need to answer the pressing question: How do children best learn to read?

That is why Congress commissioned the National Reading Panel in 1998, for the purpose of finally putting an end to the "reading wars," the battle of conflicting philosophies. The panel conducted a comprehensive review of the research on reading and assessed the effectiveness of different approaches. With the release of the panel’s final report in the spring of 2000, teachers, parents and school administrators are now equipped with scientific research that provides clear direction for the classroom.

The panel found that there is a clear and distinct pattern that children go through as they learn to read. The first step is the recognition of sounds and the ability to identify the 44 different sounds of our alphabet. Scientists call this "phoneme awareness." Children who are poor readers often can’t tell you the separate sounds that are in a word.

A child’s next step involves linking these sounds to letters and then putting these sounds together to form a word. For instance, the "mmmmm" sound is linked to the letter "M." By sounding out each letter, he can read the word.

Educators call this step "phonics." The panel found that instruction in phoneme awareness and phonics is highly effective for all children across a range of age and grade levels. But for children at risk, instruction in these essential skills is crucial and needs to be intensive and systematic in order for them to gain fluency.

The panel also found that there are clear benefits to children reading aloud, especially with a teacher, parent or peer who can help them work through a tough sentence and consider its meaning. While reading silently may be good practice, research shows that it cannot replace oral reading. As children learn to decode words quickly and accurately, reading aloud can also improve their comprehension.

I am pleased and proud that President Bush’s "Reading First" initiative found in H.R. 1 has been shaped by the findings of the National Reading Panel. With its passage, this Congress shows it understands that we should identify high-risk students early and use explicit, intensive and systemic phonics to prevent lifelong reading difficulties.

H.R. 1 will insist that schools be successful. It will ensure that teachers and schools have access to the best instruction methods. We simply can no longer throw enormous amounts of money at reading programs that simply do not work. That is why H.R. 1 focuses on effective, proven methods of reading instruction based on rigorous scientific research.

There couldn’t be a better time to focus on literacy. We know the dismal statistics of illiteracy do not have to exist. It’s particularly important to improve our nation’s reading programs because of the widening achievement gap between rich and poor and white and minority students. Nearly 70 percent of inner-city and rural fourth-graders cannot read at a basic level; low-income students lag behind their counterparts by an average of 20 percentile points on national assessment tests. All of this, despite spending more than $125 billion in federal education dollars over the past 25 years.

All students can learn to read. We need to make sure that students from our most disadvantaged communities are given the same opportunities, because their parents have the fewest options available to intervene and help their children succeed.

Public education is the fundamental equalizer in our society. Public education enables those from humble beginnings to enter the middle class and enjoy prosperity. Public education makes the American dream possible. We must improve public education so that every child learns to read.

Rep. Northup, a Republican from Kentucky, is a member of the Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee.

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