With test scores low, NYC schools turn to new approach for reading instruction

In an effort to address what they call the “educational crisis of our time,” Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks on Tuesday announced new details for their plan to overhaul literacy instruction in the city’s public schools.

Starting next school year, at least half the city’s elementary schools will be required to use one of three vetted reading curricula. For many schools that are not already using one of the new curricula, administrators will have to replace their materials and retrain their teachers.

The shift marks a move away from an approach to reading instruction called “balanced literacy,” which emphasizes independent reading and sometimes encourages students to use clues to decipher texts, but glosses over phonics. The method has come under fire in recent years as mounting data showed that students need explicit instruction in letter sounds and combinations.

Teachers will now move toward a practice known as the “science of reading,” which focuses on phonics, vocabulary and comprehension. But some educators and parents question whether the Adams administration is prepared to offer schools the money and time needed for teachers to retool a fundamental part of their practice.

“Is it going to be perfect? No,” Adams acknowledged while making the announcement at P.S. 156 in Brownsville, Brooklyn. “But damn it, we’re going to try.”

With barely half of the city’s public school students testing as proficient in reading, Adams and Banks have made boosting literacy a cornerstone of their education agenda. Tuesday’s announcement marked the administration’s most significant step yet toward reaching that goal.

“Too many of our children do not know how to read,” Banks said. “It’s a travesty and really an indictment of the work we do.”

Banks highlighted 2022 state test score data that shows 51% of the city’s third through eighth grade students did not score proficient on reading, with yawning disparities by race: 30%…