Thread by @alfiekohn

1/8 More pushback from experts against the "#ScienceOfReading" propaganda campaign. From a Literacy Research Assn. report: "The idea that there is a 'settled science' that has determined the only approach to the teaching of reading is simply wrong": is.gd/XpHvYZ...

2/8 ..."Evidence does not justify the use of a heavy & near-exclusive focus on phonics instructn, either in regular classrms, or for [kids having trouble] learning to read."
Likewise, "neither the nature nor the existence of dyslexia is settled science": is.gd/eWFWht

3/8 Add that report to last year's thorough examination of multiple metaanalyses in Ed Psych Revw, which found "little or no evidence that [systematic phonics] is more effective than many of the most common alternative methods...including whole language": is.gd/Q2DHo1

4/8 ...Notably, "a careful review of the National Reading Panel (2000) findings shows that the benefits of systematic phonics for reading text, spelling, & comprehension are weak & short-lived, with reduced or no benefits for low-achieving poor readers beyond grade 1"...

5/8 ...& subsequent reanalyses cast even the NRP's weak findings of benefit into doubt. There are "few areas in psychology in which the research community so consistently [claims] a conclusion that is so at odds with available evidence" as the defense of teaching phonics.

6/8 This year, 3 other literacy experts challenged claims that direct phonics instruction (or, worse, mandating it for all children) is a prerequisite for attaining proficiency at real reading - or, more absurdly, that such an approach is "science-based": is.gd/jEBbGr

7/8 ...And yet another expert has explained that "the impact of intensive phonics is clear only [on] tests in which children pronounce lists of words in isolation. It is minuscule or absent on tests of reading comprehension after 1st grade": is.gd/jVndSU...

8/8 ...Finally, my own lengthy (but older) take on teaching reading: is.gd/h32VeY.
Alas, trying to reason with the science-in-name-only "Science of Reading" partisans is like trying to do so w/ anti-vaxxers.
Skeptical? Dig into all the documents this thread links to.