The latest sign that the Ed Tech Backlash is the new normal: @rweingarten.bsky.social backs elementary screen time limits. 👏 www.nbcnews.com/news/educati...

Been working through this list and highly recommended reading on curriculum, ed tech, and beyond.

'Every hour counts: Daycares track conversations to boost language skills' "“It’s making it more literacy rich for children, gets their minds thinking, exposing them to that critical thinking, that back and forth."" Via @karenvaites.bsky.social www.yahoo.com/news/article...

"When it comes to iReady, we have a district administrator knowledge issue. It is as simple as that." Multiple teachers are collaborating this weekend on the latest iReady post for the Curriculum Insight Project. This comment about the role of admins speaks for all of them.

Day care centers are tracking conversational turns to promote oral language development. <swoon> www.yahoo.com/news/article...

I'd like your feedback on an important question. Somehow, US educators are getting the impression that students should only work with decodable texts (or listen to read alouds) until they have learned all letter-sound correspondences. 1/

Weekend catch-up reading... Get your weekend catch-up reading!!! This week's dense roundup surely has something you missed: www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

When I tell you I have this conversation every single day, multiple times, with people across the country, I'm not exaggerating. Related: the misconception that K-2 students should only read from decodable books has gotta be debunked. scienceofreadingclassroom.substack.com/p/partner-re...

In its recent report, RAND noted the prevalence of classrooms with few whole books, and called for more research into the value of books in curriculum. Me: Hard Pass. We have all the research we need… we've just forgotten about it. More: curriculuminsightproject.substack.com/p/unpacking-...

The literacy discourse is Overwhelming Like Maycember. My latest collection is out: www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

Since writing this, @karenvaites.bsky.social has written a more comprehensive (and scathing) review of the RAND report. Well worth a read. open.substack.com/pub/curricul...

The important new RAND survey has good news, bad news, and confusing signals about books in American ELA classrooms. We should spend time with this one. My latest: curriculuminsightproject.substack.com/p/unpacking-...

'Rocio Rivas, the school board’s VP, said at an April 21 board meeting that she spoke to district educators about i-Ready, and “I have yet to hear a positive comment.” Dozens of parents burst into applause in response.' Tyler Kingkade on the iReady backlash. www.nbcnews.com/news/educati...

This week's absolute must-read, via @eheubeck.bsky.social: EdWeek covers essential questions of phonics versus oral language and vocabulary dosage. www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...

Welcome to the Balanced Literacy fallout. My daughter is an 8th grader in a loyal TCRWP district. This summer, the middle school team got together to create a grammar intervention, because student writing skills were raising alarms.

Happy Mother’s Day to Tiger Moms, Beta Moms, all the moms. “Paradoxically, the social pressure to overachieve as a parent only seems to intensify with mothers’ increased participation in the labor market…” www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, let's embrace cell phone bans to make teaching more satisfying, pay our best teachers more, and put research front and center. The Latest in Literacy is out: www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

The inimitable @carlhendrick.substack.com takes a measured look at short-form video as a learning tool, giving a fair shake to its potential advantages (ex. motivating learners about a new topics). Still, it’s primarily a cautionary signal. This section, whew. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Honestly, I can hardly keep up with the Ed Tech Backlash. Still, my weekly roundup has been taking a crack at it. Catch last week's jam-packed edition before this week's installment drops. www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

What If Ed Tech Peaked 200 Years Ago? @timdaly.bsky.social makes a solid case for the chalkboard and McGuffey readers as the OG force multipliers in education. www.educationdaly.us/p/what-if-pe...

What if states get prescriptive about curriculum... and get it wrong? Thank you @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social for asking this elephant-in-the-room Q. Read it all: schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/pondiscio-...

'Today American children have become “the fussiest eaters in history”. In a new book, Helen Zoe Veit... decries changes in adults’ behaviour and thinking over the past century that “allowed picky eating to hijack American childhood”.' @economist.com comes for modern parenting:

< cringing smile emoji >

Knowledge-Building Curriculum, Project-Based Learning, Social-Emotional Learning

Cueing and Math Wars and Standards, oh my! You can't keep up with the Ed Tech backlash, but maybe you can get through the literacy reads. Godspeed! The Latest in Literacy is out. www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

There is nothing like ResearchEd New York City

Check out the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting resources here! obc.southerneducation.org/resources/

At ResearchEd NYC, @carajackson.bsky.social explains outcomes-based contracting to an audience of evidence-minded educators.

Everyone's talking about the new Fordham report. Including me. My latest: @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social www.karenvaites.org/p/the-new-fo...

This issue earned all kinds of attention in other spaces. Crickets here. Which makes me wonder… What would it take to spark more literacy discourse here? open.substack.com/pub/curricul...

I also find the Ed Tech backlash to be moving incredibly swiftly. @jcarreo22.bsky.social is a good follow on the parent advocacy front.

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” - Ray Bradbury curriculuminsightproject.substack.com/p/literacy-i...

Happy Milestone Monday to my favorite group passion project. 🥳

I really can't believe this needs to be written. But here we are.

Featuring @natwexler.bsky.social @suchmo83.bsky.social @markgoodrich.bsky.social @chadaldeman.bsky.social @mrzachg.bsky.social @katasolow.bsky.social @hollykorbey.bsky.social @gregashman.bsky.social @smorrisey.bsky.social @daisychristo.bsky.social and so many more.

What a week! It’s arguably too much for one newsletter. But on the flip side, I bet you missed something here. The Latest in Literacy is out: www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

Recently, I testified to the DC Board of Education about the need for books in ELA curriculum. Yet the disappearance of books from curriculum is a symptom of a broader malady. My latest, including my testimony in DC: curriculuminsightproject.substack.com/p/literacy-i...

We would not tell runners to attempt to train for a marathon by doing only sprints, simply because ‘no research proves that it can’t work.’ Similar common sense should prevail for books versus passage-only curriculum.

I recently introduced myself at an event as: "Hi, I'm Karen, and I'm on a crusade to bring books back into reading curriculum." As it came out of my mouth, I realized how insane it sounds.

Today, 65% of Georgia elementary schools use ELA curricula that lack books in ‘chapter books grades’ (3+). Only 10% of schools assuredly have books. A quarter of schools are a black box. Georgia’s reform efforts chased Balanced Literacy curricula out of its schools. But—is this a good outcome?

I was pleased to testify about the importance of books in curriculum before the DC State Board of Ed. Honestly, I was delighted they wanted to have the conversation at all. This is all-too-rare in an era where most state Ed departments encourage book-free curricula via state lists.

This new piece on my Substack is mainly a slightly revised version of something I wrote for @hollykorbey.bsky.social's The Bell Ringer last month with some initial comment on the "over-teaching phonics" debate which seems to be trending in the USA. markgoodrich.substack.com/p/is-over-te...

Here’s the State of State Curriculum Maps. It's updated since I stumbled on another ELA curriculum map this week, in CT. By any measure, this is a troubling lack of transparency. www.karenvaites.org/p/few-states...

The One That Leads With Research. A new study on state training, a must-know study on LETRS, a new study on intervention from Freddy Hiebert and Kristin Conradi Smith, a collection of research on testing on digital vs print... www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

This week was spicy and info-dense, in equal measure. Read on: www.karenvaites.org/p/the-latest...

Freddy Hiebert, @kconradi.bsky.social, Jake Downs, and Katie Martz just published an important study showing that struggling readers grow more when they work with texts above their reading level. curriculuminsightproject.substack.com/p/new-study-...

This week’s absolute must-read, and the most important thing @kelseypieper.bsky.social has written about education. www.theargumentmag.com/p/education-...

"These findings challenge conventional practices of placing striving readers in simplified texts, demonstrating that appropriately scaffolded complex texts can accelerate rather than hinder foundational skill development while also enriching Ss' exposure to academic lang. & disciplinary knowledge."

Former Louisiana commissioner John White made some brilliant points during our ASU+GSV panel. We both cheered the idea of a new National Reading Panel. From coverage of the panel: www.govtech.com/education/k-...

For 10-15 years, states have been strongly encouraged to chase literacy progress via policy. Unfortunately, we have no evidence that legislation has raised student outcomes, which deserves serious reflection. Read my own take on this ExcelInEd analysis, for ex.: open.substack.com/pub/karenvai...