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While debates swirl around the federal role in education, it is important to remember that we all have at least one shared goal: helping students learn to read at grade-level. Yet, bringing grade-level texts to all readers requires providing supportive instruction for those who are not yet confident grade-level readers, and this level of differentiated instruction is a very real challenge for teachers. ReadWorks has developed research-based resources to help teachers achieve our shared goal of grade-level reading for all. The Grade-level Gap First, let’s look at the research. The negative impact of working with only below-grade-level materials on students’ chances of becoming successful readers is clear. For example, when a fourth-grade student only reads second-grade texts, they have only practiced second-grade skills and, therefore, fall further behind their on-grade peers who are practicing fourth-grade skills (Shanahan, 2020). Researchers have labeled this the “Matthew effect:” the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer (Perc, 2020; Merton, 1968). Students need to work with grade-level texts to encounter the vocabulary, sentence structures, and genres that come with ever-increasing text complexity, even if they are not currently reading independently at that level. However, just because these findings are clear does not mean that it is clear to teachers how to support students in tackling grade-level work. In our 2022 research study with TNTP, we found that, in schools serving more students in poverty, students got less access to grade-level work. This builds on TNTP’s 2018 report The Opportunity Myth where researchers found that students—and especially students of color, those from low-income families, those with mild to moderate disabilities, and English language learners—spent the vast majority of their school days missing out on grade-appropriate assignments. Balancing Expectations and Support One of the key considerations is student motivation because tackling challenging reading is, well, challenging! And as humans, we are not naturally wired to want to do things that we think we might fail at. Motivation researchers have found that a sense of success can help us move past this fear of failure. A 2024 study, one of Edutopia’s top research studies of the year, found that “remembered success” can be a “straightforward, cost-effective way to increase the likelihood that students will choose to engage in and persist at [difficult] tasks” (Finn, Miele, & Wigfield, 2024). Providing easier material at the start or end of an assignment can give students the motivation to tackle more challenging material. How ReadWorks Promotes Grade-level Reading for All ReadWorks has distilled all of this critical research into two straightforward resources for teachers to use in their classrooms the very next day. First, our StepReads center grade-level texts for all readers alongside scaffolded texts as a tool for both accessing the grade-level text and developing a sense of success. When a teacher assigns StepReads, students receive both the grade-level texts and carefully written scaffold texts, the StepReads, that contain all of the content of the original text within less complex syntax and vocabulary. By reading the StepRead, students become familiar with the focus of the original text and more equipped, both with this background knowledge and with their feeling of success, to tackle the grade-level text, either through reading or listening (all ReadWorks texts come with audio). Our Article-A-Day routine also pairs easier texts on the same topic with grade-level texts to give students an on-ramp to tackling more challenging reading. With our simple filters, teachers can readily find the hundreds of Article-A-Day sets with these “boost” articles, and then with our digital classroom, they can assign them directly to the students who need the support. These resources are a win-win-win of research-based instruction:
Written by: Susanne Nobles Ph.D.Chief Academic Officer at ReadWorks
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At ReadWorks, we believe that knowledge is a right! Every child deserves access to high-quality reading materials that build background knowledge, strengthen vocabulary, and ignite curiosity — no matter where they live or what resources their school may have.
That’s why all of our online reading passages and resources are completely free! Closing the Knowledge Gap Research shows that background knowledge and vocabulary are critical to reading comprehension — yet too many students, especially those in under-resourced communities, lack access to the kind of content-rich materials that support their learning. As a nonprofit, we're committed to closing that gap by making expertly curated, engaging reading passages accessible to all. We are particularly focused on reaching the 21,000+ schools that have an enrollment of 75% or more students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Sometimes referred to as Title I schools. Learn more about our free online reading passages. Supporting Every Teacher, Every Classroom Teachers are the heart of education — but they shouldn’t have to spend valuable time searching for affordable, high-quality materials. Our library of over 6,000 free online reading passages spans a range of topics, grade levels, and languages, offering the tools to differentiate instruction and engage every student. We also support the professional development of teachers for free. Learn more about our free customized professional development and view our library of live or on-demand webinars. Research-Proven Every ReadWorks resource is backed by the latest research in the science of reading and written with care by experts. By offering our resources for free, we’re breaking down barriers to knowledge building that works. In just nine weeks a class of 4th graders improved knowledge by 11% after their teacher implemented the ReadWorks Article-A-Day routine. See the research brief. Our mission is powered by the belief that knowledge belongs to everyone. If you believe in the power of reading to transform lives, we invite you to explore our resources, share them with your community, and help us spread the word. Thank you to all of our donors and supporters for keeping ReadWorks free of charge! As teachers face the critical challenge of helping students become successful, joyful readers, they need resources that they know will work. However, “there is a stunning lack of research and evidence to support the efficacy of” the 11K+ edtech tools available (source). ReadWorks is different. Research is at our core. Our ever-evolving, 100% free products are built on the scientific study of reading to ensure students can steadily improve and expand their background knowledge and vocabularies in support of their reading comprehension—helping them become the confident readers they deserve to be. We are honored to have earned Digital Promise's Research-Based Design and Learner Variability product certifications for our careful, research-driven product development on behalf of the millions of students and teachers who use our site each year. Once our resources are launched, we continuously study their impact in multidimensional research studies, led by our internal research team and in partnership with top reading researchers. Because of our robust research agenda, ReadWorks is one of only 26 of the 100 most-used edtech tools in classrooms that meet Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements, according to a report from LearnPlatform by Instructure. ReadWorks currently meets ESSA Tier 3 evidence requirements. In a 2022 study, researchers at NYU Stern School of Business found that students who complete ReadWorks multiple-choice questions progress over time, implying that students’ reading performance benefits from regularly doing ReadWorks question sets. This study also corroborated two earlier Digital Promise studies (in 2020 and 2019) by finding that differentiation within ReadWorks digital assignments helps students confidently and successfully tackle challenging reading. The impact of differentiation on student assignment open rate was even larger for the high-poverty group than that for the low-poverty group, implying the potential benefits of differentiation, especially for more disadvantaged groups. In 2023, we launched a multi-year research plan that will deepen our investigation of ReadWorks’ impact on teacher practice and student outcomes, while continuing our mission of advancing the broader field of reading comprehension research through our innovative work. To continue examining the effectiveness of our high-quality passages designed to improve students’ background knowledge and vocabulary, our research team is studying our flagship product, Article-A-Day. A 2023 spring pilot with over 150 students in eight North Carolina classrooms found promising evidence that Article-A-Day can augment background knowledge and vocabulary. Our research team will conduct a follow-up study this year and will also use the pilot data to refine our new background knowledge assessments. We will share our assessment work with the broader field to help advance research in this critical aspect of reading comprehension, as background knowledge, a key part of reading success, can be challenging to measure accurately and reliably. We could not deepen our research efforts without the support of our school and district partners. Thank you to the teachers and students who support research in the classroom. You can find additional case-studies that have proven impact and have influenced our design decisions. Contact [email protected] if you are interested in partnering or learning more about a research study. Written by:
Susanne Nobles, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer ReadWorks is excited to add even more free curricular support for early readers! It is vital to give readers the opportunity to build background knowledge while practicing the letter-sound code that brings reading to life. Enter the new decodables on ReadWorks – a series of short, nonfiction texts designed to enhance curriculum and teacher instruction for early readers. Developed with expert writers and early reading thought leaders, these new decodables enable teachers to harness even more of the high-quality tools and sequences that ReadWorks offers. “The team at ReadWorks is dedicated to the mission of offering free reading comprehension tools for teachers, and it was essential for us to develop specific tools for early readers. The popularity of the fiction decodables aligned to ReadWorks nonfiction articles that we offer in partnership with Whole Phonics provided us a launching pad into writing nonfiction decodables that work in step with our Article-A-Day scope and sequence. Early literacy is the cornerstone of educational success, and we are excited about the positive impact that these new decodables can have on children's reading development," Susanne Nobles, Chief Academic Officer, ReadWorks Here are the powerful features and benefits of the new ReadWorks decodables and how they can be used to revolutionize early literacy education.
2. The Power of Nonfiction for Early Readers Often, knowledge and vocabulary development are sacrificed for early readers because the texts they are reading are solely focused on word recognition. Teachers can deliberately support their students’ knowledge-building by pairing ReadWorks content-rich, listening-level passages with ReadWorks free decodables on the same topic. "We’ve all heard the adage that children first learn to read, and then they read to learn. Yet decades of research show that this is a false dichotomy ... From the very beginning, children can build knowledge of the natural and social world through read-alouds ... [and] build knowledge through texts that they are learning to read themselves" (The Scientific Advisory Committee, Knowledge Matters Campaign). Source  3. Cultivating Reading Comprehension Proficiency These new decodables are particularly unique because they give beginning readers the opportunity to build background knowledge while practicing mastering the code. ReadWorks created decodables that work with our Article-A-Day scope and sequence to help students build language comprehension while they also become proficient with word-level reading. ReadWorks has been honored to have expertise on this project from Dr. Julia Lindsey, creator and author of Beyond Decodables, author of the book Reading Above the Fray, and former elementary teacher turned early literacy consultant. She says, “I’m thrilled for educators to use the new high-quality decodable texts available for free from ReadWorks. ReadWorks’ decodables are nonfiction, informational texts created via the same rigorous vetting process as their other resources. By combining decodability and content (linked to Article-a-Day), these texts have the potential to simultaneously support children’s foundational skills and knowledge development — an all-around win!” ReadWorks continues to pave the way for accessible, engaging, and transformative free resources that improve reading comprehension to reach every grade level, school, and district. Decodables for first grade and kindergarten are available now, and second grade texts are being written. Teachers can find decodables within our Article-A-Day Scope & Sequence on ReadWorks. Be sure to register for our upcoming webinar Fostering Joy in Early Readers, How to Use New decodables on ReadWorks on August 15th. Written by:
Melissa Calder, Director of Marketing and Engagement Susanne Nobles, Chief Academic Officer  “What’s your best digital reading format?” Do you prefer Arial font with 15 point size and wide character spacing, or Helvetica font with 20 point size and traditional spacing?” Have you ever even thought about which digital format works best for you while reading on a device? Maybe you already adjust your screen away from the default text or you have used the pinch and zoom feature to adjust text size. The ability to quickly and easily change your font size and spacing can result in instantaneous improvement in reading speed and comprehension. Many of these adjustable features and tools are not yet available for young students. ReadWorks is leading the charge to provide access to digital format options for K-12 students on all of our high-quality passages. Tailoring education to individual needs is not new– some students need glasses and some need to sit closer to the front of the room in order to learn and perform better. Differentiating to meet students’ needs looks different, however, in the age of digital learning, finding solutions is a deep focus at ReadWorks. “We feel privileged to be part of the research team investigating how the visual features of typography affect reading fluency and comprehension by having a variety of digital formats implemented on the ReadWorks platform. Much of this work has already been implemented for college and adult students, and now we are able to be leaders for K-12 students,” said ReadWorks Chief Academic Officer, Susanne Nobles, Ph.D. So, how do we know that reading format can help students with reading comprehension? In a first-of-its-kind research study conducted by ReadWorks, Chapman University, The Royal Danish Academy, and Readability Matters, students showed an average increase of 20% in comprehension based on a change to the reading format, which can translate to an increase in up to two letter-grades for students. And for those most impacted by text format, the percentages gained were even higher. Source We are continuing to dig into these exciting early findings. As part of a research study with the University of Oregon, Readability Matters and the iDEAL Institute at Loyola Marymount University, students on ReadWorks will use a new assessment tool to determine their best reading format. Student’s best-performing reading format will be provided to them while on ReadWorks without any additional burden for teachers to manage. The outcomes of this research can significantly inform Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines and best practices for how edtech organizations create and deliver tech-enabled resources and tools. With a vast educator base, ReadWorks is in a uniquely advantageous position to quickly roll-out new features to support millions of students and help lift the barrier to high-quality, research-based tools and resources that improve reading comprehension. Digital text formats are an important new avenue to continue to differentiate and personalize learning needs. Rather than using tools that work better for many students, we can implement tools that work best for each student. Written by:
Melissa Calder, Director of Marketing and Engagement Susanne Nobles, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer |
