Greetings!

Let's talk about reading—the one skill that unlocks everything else.

The stats are sobering: 33% of eighth graders read below basic level. But what are they telling us?

Let's dive in.

THOUGHT: Master This, Master Anything
‍TREND: The Case For Mastery (Redux)
‍TOOL: High-Dosage Tutoring

Master This, Master Anything

By fourth grade, education shifts from "learning to read" to "reading to learn"—and students who haven't mastered literacy by then face an ever-widening gap across every subject. Andrea Fife, our Chief Academic Officer, puts it simply:

"If you can read, you can learn anything."

Words are the source code of education—the fundamental building block that unlocks everything else. When kids can't read, they can't access opportunity. They can't pursue careers that interest them. In short, they can't fully engage with the world.

The good news? Virtually every child can become a proficient reader with the right instruction.

Read Fife's "5 Myths Keeping Your Child From Reading"

The Case For Mastery (Redux)

We recently featured a story about a Tennessee student who graduated with a 3.4 GPA but couldn't read his own diploma. He sued the school that graduated him (which didn't do him any favors by moving him through the system without ever stopping to ask whether he'd learned). We wish this was an isolated case. But it’s not. The Atlantic reports that 33% of eighth graders now read "below basic," the highest level since 1992. 

It seems that teachers are growing uncomfortable with a system that assigns numbers to students as a measure of their worth. Fair enough! But schools are then responding by passing kids through to the next grade level, where they have even less chance of catching up with their peers.

One solution would be a switch from traditional A-F grades to mastery-based grading.

Students move forward when they demonstrate understanding, not when the calendar says it's time. This ensures gaps get addressed immediately rather than compounding year after year. More importantly, it forces the system to confront the fact that it's failing so many kids.

Read the whole Atlantic article

High-Dosage Tutoring

If you have a child who is struggling with reading, Savvy Learning offers high-dosage tutoring at an affordable price:

25-minute sessions, four days per week, with qualified coaches using Science of Reading and Orton-Gillingham methods.

Just like with athletic training, short and intense beats “marathon” workouts. The short sessions match kids' attention spans. Frequent practice builds momentum.

Start today with Savvy's free reading assessment, and check out the Fall Finale promo they’re running ($1 trial + 15% off all plans).