Problematic “Scientific Based” Phonics: The Flawed National Reading Panel
It’s odd and detrimental that the National Reading Panel is highlighted in reports as science, used to promote phonics and criticize how teachers teach reading. It has become so intense that teachers are being advised to drop certain reading methods to focus solely on “systematic, explicit phonics!”
The NRP was discredited long ago. Why it’s resurfacing as scientific proof for a phonics-driven reading curriculum raises serious concerns.
In a recent Education Week report “How Do Kids Learn to Read? What the Science Says” the National Reading Panel is positively referenced six times! Similar reports repeatedly cite the NRP.
Primary teachers should know how to teach phonics. But phonics shouldn’t be taught in a vacuum, and the idea that scientific proof backs phonics based on the NRP is flawed.
Science based reading in reference to phonics started with the discredited National Reading Panel.
Some History
In 2002, Stephen Metcalf for The Nation wrote “Reading Between the Lines,” describing the excitement publishing companies had surrounding NCLB. The Bush administration had heralded in a new day for reading based on the NRP. The CONTINUE READING: Problematic “Scientific Based” Phonics: The Flawed National Reading Panel