The organizations reviewing ELA curricula don’t see eye to eye on what matters. The result is a mishmosh of signals for states and districts to navigate. Here’s my lay of the review landscape. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

I had a blast talking with George Couros about literacy, the importance of knowledge, math foundations, ++. George is an influential proponent of innovation in Ed, and he rose to prominence as Ed Tech blew up in K-12. None the less, he couldn’t stop talking about reading & math foundations.

Have you ever written something just because you can't fit in one more phone call to explain a problem everyone is trying to understand (and almost no one does)? Me, too. My latest: www.karenvaites.org/p/our-curric...

This disclaimer from McGraw-Hill is incredible. “No we don’t include whole books in curriculum, we’re just in the teaser business! We recommend that students go buy the books.” Via Dana Goldstein’s new piece on books in curricula: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...

I'm just a former Chief Marketing Officer, so what do I know, but I think we might have opportunities to improve our messaging. Some folks aren’t going to buy into Mississippi miracles. So, we should all get comfortable telling the Louisiana story: open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

THis is for @tinakotek.bsky.social who wants to be Oregon’s governor again. Our ed system is in crisis (50th & you don’t declare an emergency?). There are things we can do. They are hard, and it means you start caring about children more than not adults, but that’s what needs to happen.

Louisiana has lots to like: - 4th grade reading gains second only to MS - no third grade retention as of the 2024 NAEP, so no risk of selection effect - 8th grade reading gains - replication of its model in TN - portable model that works in any state OR DISTRICT open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

Sorry Not Sorry

Superb piece from Mark Seidenberg, who points out that American teachers have been encouraged to “teach phonemic awareness” when British teachers have not – and England’s reading outcomes have improved none the less. The reason: influencers. www.seidenbergreading.net/blog/phonemi...

His ideas about ending gifted programs in early grades didn’t cost Zohran Mamdani the election, but I think they could cost him in enrollment, and that is a good enough reason to walk them back. My recent piece for the Center for Educational Progress: open.substack.com/pub/educatio...

In 2023, Georgia passed legislation that included curriculum reform. Two years after its quirky curriculum list debuted, we get a glimpse of district selections. Spoiler: it isn’t good. Georgia is on my mind, BC it offers a window into implementation failure. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

New York City schools enrollment is down 12% since 2019. It can’t afford to shed additional students. The case for keeping gifted and selective programs intact in NYC (and other districts) probably starts with the enrollment crisis facing public Ed. www.educationprogress.org/p/straight-t...

LA & TN are the only two states in the country where book-rich, knowledge-rich curriculum is used statewide. And both saw gains in reading proficiency after these materials entered schools. Perhaps these insights can finally settle some messy SOR/policy debates. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

This blog seems a misstep by the usually sensible Timothy Shanahan and I can’t help wondering whether he has been somewhat influenced by being involved in some of excerpt-based curricula. (h/t @karenvaites.bsky.social) www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/whole-b...

Middle School Parenting be like

“You don’t actually expect every state to follow Mississippi and Louisiana in how they teach reading?”

EdReports is looking for feedback on “how we can continue to earn and strengthen your trust.” docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

How do we retain our best teachers – because our best teachers are good at raising outcomes? While learning from the shortcomings of the merit pay era? @margueriteroza.bsky.social spotlights some initiatives worth knowing. mailchi.mp/3cf64c47e1d4...

Facing declines in reading performance, Massachusetts legislators are advancing a bill that touches a 3rd rail: curriculum mandates. I'm here to explain why MA absolutely needs this bill – and also to sound some alarms.🚨 Literacy friends, read until the end. 👀 www.karenvaites.org/p/massachuse...

Costume almost fooled us.

Astute observation from @evidentlyreading.bsky.social. Lucy Calkins made teachers think ELA classrooms for novice readers should mirror the practices of adults, and that would make kids love reading. open.substack.com/pub/curricul...

Yesterday, a big literacy bill passed the MA House. Soon, I’ll publish 2 pieces related to the developments. In the meantime, I’m resurfacing this piece on the Balanced Literacy Resistance in MA from 2024. Spoiler: some of these names will return. www.karenvaites.org/p/lessons-fr...

Watershed Moment: Massachusetts literacy bill passes House with unanimous support (!). I was honored to get the last word in the Boston Globe. The bill would require the use of state-approved materials by all districts. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/29/m... Open access link: archive.ph/7cHeb

I’m out here telling spooky stories. 👻 The linked reading: www.karenvaites.org/p/leveled-re...

This is the most important dichotomy in American education. Every state is Doing Something to improve reading instruction in the Science of Reading era. Only four states have student outcomes to show for it. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

#EducationSky Follow Karen, you won't be disappointed!

I wish I could skywrite Chad Aldeman’s latest piece above every Kindergarten parent night. “If your child is behind in the early grades, the odds that they will catch up decline every single year. Do. Not. Wait.” Really, look at the data he shares. open.substack.com/pub/aldemano...

This is the question of the hour. I wrote about it this week. Spoiler: the answer is "don't count on it." Read on: open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

"Desks in rows and decoration-free walls are neither necessary nor sufficient proxies for effective teaching"

If anyone thinks Linda McMahon is hustling to bring the Southern Surge playbook to additional states, guess again. Also, the loss of Penny Schwinn is a massive downer. From my latest: open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

Finally, the Southern Surge is getting the national attention it deserves. 🙌 I collected the key articles from the last month, in case you missed them. Honestly, they came so fast and furious that I haven’t been able to post them all here. open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...

Late to reading this but this is interesting because it isn’t just correlation (like lots of previous studies). They tracked impact over time.

This piece had me at the title: “Stop Being Such F****** Killjoys” A timely call by @katasolow.bsky.social to end silly infighting in k-12 spaces. open.substack.com/pub/scienceo...

New study on student cellphone bans finds short-term increases in discipline issues but ultimately improvements in both attendance and student achievement. www.nber.org/papers/w3438...

This is approx 1.5% of the US population. Not trivial numbers. Independent estimate from @gelliottmorris.com: “Our median estimate is that 5.2 million people participated in a No Kings Day demonstration somewhere in the country on Saturday...” open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...

Know someone struggling to believe that the Mississippi story is legit? Just send them to @rweingarten.bsky.social. She knows what’s up.

Holly Korbey’s excellent piece on the flawed curriculum review landscape has been republished by Fordham, and it was also featured in Sarah Schwartz’s EdWeek reporting. Don’t miss this one! open.substack.com/pub/hollykor...

As a Brit, a lot of these US articles on education get you thinking about things in a different way. Although it’s not ideal for kids in the short term. the variance you get with different states makes for fascinating study. #EduSky

Coverage of the Southern Surge continues to surge. In The Atlantic, Idrees Kahloon explores the “low-expectations theory” for American educational declines, and points to the Southern Surge as an important counter factual. Article: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv... Open access: archive.ph/TVewa

Kelsey Piper and I penned a detailed piece unpacking the Southern Surge, in response to a Freddie DeBoer straw man. “First, we must get straight on the plays in the Southern Surge playbook. BC, for the love of God, it’s not just phonics,” we wrote. DeBoer responds with… a long rant about phonics.

Kelsey Piper and I penned a detailed piece unpacking the Southern Surge, in response to a Freddie DeBoer straw man. “First, we must get straight on the plays in the Southern Surge playbook. BC, for the love of God, it’s not just phonics,” we wrote. DeBoer responds with… a long rant about phonics.

“There are signs that some classrooms are shifting away from long-form reading much earlier, as far back as elementary school.” www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...

New study in JAMA: “Preteens using increasing amounts of social media perform poorer in reading, vocabulary and memory tests in early adolescence compared with those who use no or little social media.” “It's problematic… even in small doses." Important read: www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Phonics fixes everything.

I am still seeing plenty of Misssissippi doubters in the mean streets of social media. I believe my piece with Kelsey Piper debunked these narratives, as well as one can. Please give it a read: open.substack.com/pub/theargum...

David Brooks shouts out the “so-called Southern Surge” in NYT. “Schools in blue states like California, OR and WA are languishing, but schools in red states like Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee & Louisiana, traditional laggards, are suddenly doing remarkably well…” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/o...

@natwexler.bsky.social wants everyone to look closely at the work in Louisiana and Tennessee, to understand the role of knowledge-building curricula. I heartily agree – and appreciate her kind words about my write up. open.substack.com/pub/nataliew...

Teacher preparation in America is such a mess. “@NCTQ’s analysis revealed that 40% of teacher prep programs are still teaching two or more practices that are incompatible with scientifically based reading instruction.” www.nctq.org/research-ins...