An Award-Winning EdTech Nonprofit ReadWorks

An Award-Winning,
EdTech Nonprofit with a Mission

ReadWorks is a free, accessible solution built on results. Since the launch of our online services more than ten years ago, five million educators and 30 million students have used the ReadWorks platform. Teachers trust ReadWorks for the original, substantial, and inspirational selection of choices within our library.

Many organizations seek to address the literacy crisis, but ReadWorks stands out in four key ways:

(1) our research-based digital tools, features, and content;
(2) our superb educator guidance;
(3) our national reach; and
(4) our mission as a nonprofit providing resources for FREE

Each school year, ReadWorks is used by nearly 1 million educators and over 11.5 million students, including those in 93% of the highest-poverty K-8 schools–the population we are most focused on based on our mission.

our reach

ReadWorks' Nationwide Reach

Below is a map of our nationwide reach for K-8 teachers using voluntary information provided by educators:

Supporting Low-Income Communities

Every student has the remarkable potential to be a joyful successful reader. We have always centered our development, improvement, and promotion of ReadWorks products and services with a focus on schools and districts with 75% free and reduced lunch income levels. It is important that our reading instruction comes to life through our library topics that support culturally responsive teaching, content for all Lexile levels and focuses on complexity of a text and not the ability of a reader or their background.

Because of our strong desire to protect our users’ data privacy and stringent compliance with data privacy laws, we do not collect any personal student information, including race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. We do, however, ask teachers where they teach, though filling out school information is not mandatory. We have voluntary school information for nearly 60% of our educators.

With this data, we know nearly 30% of all teachers in the highest-poverty K-12 schools use ReadWorks. In schools with the highest percent of Black and Hispanic students, 13% of all students use ReadWorks.

Using the NCES public school characteristics data set for all public and charter schools in the U.S, we have approximated our teacher penetration in low-income schools and our student penetration in Black/Latino-majority schools.

The
National
Reading Crisis

Why focus on reading?

Learn More

What are the negative outcomes of falling behind in reading comprehension?

Research shows when students are not proficient readers by 4th grade, they are far less likely to complete high school, with serious consequences for economic and civic prospects for the remainder of their lives. Without the ability to read and comprehend text on a page, students cannot succeed in school, get into and complete college, or secure well-paying jobs to support their families. They cannot easily fill out a job application, tax form, or ballot.

The extensive research on the importance of literacy speaks for itself. Here is a small sample of the startling statistics:

Students who don't read proficiently by the 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of school.
Nearly 85% of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and incarceration. More than 60% of all inmates are functionally illiterate.
Reports show that the rate of low literacy in the United States directly costs the healthcare industry over $70 million every year.

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The importance of reading cannot be overstated. Reading is the foundation of education and learning, yet only 33% of fourth-graders are proficient in reading––2 percentage points lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic (NAEP).

These statistics reflect a national crisis. Research shows when students are not proficient readers by 4th grade, they are more likely to face negative outcomes.

Research about reading and reading instruction has surfaced practices and approaches that build crucial reading ability, even for the most struggling learners.

And yet that research and knowledge are not reliably applied in classrooms, teacher preparation programs, and ongoing teacher training. Instead, unproven (or disproven) academic theory dominates the education system.

Designed based on research and the practical realities of the classroom, ReadWorks is a tested solution. 

"ReadWorks is one of the best resources I've used in my 20 years of teaching! I use it 2-3 days a week...and our students have done an excellent job with it! Thank you so much for creating this valuable resource."

-Gregory A. McMillan

Built on
the Science of Reading

The science of reading refers to a body of research from educational and scientific experts explaining how students learn how to read and the best practices for reading instruction.

Two frameworks have been developed to demonstrate how we learn to read based on this research. The first is The Simple View of Reading which shows that language comprehension and decoding are both necessary for reading comprehension:

Fluent Word Reading * Language Comprehension = Reading Comprehension

The second, Scarborough’s Rope (right), demonstrates how language-comprehension and its components of vocabulary, background knowledge, language structures, verbal reason, and literacy knowledge all weave together and intertwine with the word-recognition strands of phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition.

With classroom instruction built upon these components and materials designed on this foundation, every child can become a joyful and successful reader.

Growing through
Research and Impact

“At the beginning of the school year, I had a lot of reds, yellows [Approaching], and a couple of light greens [Proficient]. Then we progress-monitored, and by the end of the school year, even my resource students had improved, and that was just by implementing Article-A-Day.”
- Mr. Haskie

Case Study

Case Study:

Mr. Leon Haskie, implemented ReadWorks’ Article-A-Day in his classroom for eight months which resulted in:

Increase students’ motivation to read
Increase students’ reading fluency
Supplement the standard curriculum materials
student engagement increased in the virtual classroom setting
students’ reading and writing production increased.

Overall, students' monthly standardized testing scores improved,

Read more about Leon and his students in this Article- A-Day case study.

Our research and evidence have led to meeting ESSA Tier 3 and being awarded Digital Promise's research-based design and learner variability product certifications.

Our expert research staff continuously runs multidimensional research studies and partners with world-renowned institutional partners to assess our impact and guide product development so that we can apply the science of how diverse learners move toward reading comprehension to our offerings.

learn more about our research

High-Quality,
Diverse Content

ReadWorks’ library offers over 5,500 high-quality texts on a diverse range of subjects to complement every curriculum. Our Content team completes rigorous fact-checking and sensitivity reviews and works with world-renowned institutions to create original and long-lasting passages.

Along with our world-class texts, we have developed award-winning digital tools to help ensure each student receives individualized reading comprehension instruction based on their needs. Each tool is thoughtfully designed based on research, teacher-tested, and continuously improved to best serve teachers and students.

Our partners include the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the International Quilt Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, the New-York Historical Society, and more.

The ReadWorks
Strategic Plan 2022 – 2025
Igniting Potential

These four strategic objectives will guide our work in the years ahead. Read the entire strategic plan.

Advance equity in education through reading instruction

Grow knowledge through varied and diverse voices

Deepen our evidence base and impact

Build organizational infrastructure

Mission

ReadWorks is committed to helping to solve America’s reading comprehension crisis and student achievement gap. Driven by the scientific study of reading, ReadWorks creates proven high-quality content, teacher guidance, and integrated tools that improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement.

Vision

Every child in the United States will be able to read well with deep comprehension because all educators teach reading effectively with the high-quality reading content and curricular supports they need.