Christopher Peak

At least 25 states have passed laws about how schools teach reading since APM Reports’ Sold a Story podcast was released in 2022. But proponents of the disproven ideas about reading exposed in the podcast haven’t given up.

The educational publisher raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue during the 2010s selling reading programs based on a disproven theory. The company now faces financial fallout, as schools ditch its products.

As schools around the country are dropping Reading Recovery, the nonprofit that advocates for the tutoring program tapped into its cash reserves to push back against journalists and legislators.

Other schools are backing away from a disproven theory about how kids learn to read, but programs started by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell train literacy coaches to believe in it.

«De hecho, sería mejor jugar a cara o cruz» para identificar a los lectores con dificultades, dijo un investigador sobre la prueba creada por los influyentes creadores del plan de estudios Fountas y Pinnell.

“Flipping a coin would actually be better” for identifying struggling readers, one researcher said of the test created by influential curriculum developers Fountas and Pinnell.

More states are now requiring districts to adopt curriculum that adheres to the science of reading.  

APM Reports found that the controversial educational publishing company has sold instructional materials and professional resources in almost every state, earning at least $1.6 billion over a decade. 

Initial gains from first-grade intervention didn’t last and kids performed worse in third and fourth grade.

The education professors double down on a flawed approach that encourages pictures and context to read words. Heinemann — their publisher — faces harsh criticism.

In a city with some of the most glaring health disparities in the country, District officials were slow to help Black residents deal with the pandemic.

The governor won't contest a court ruling that found students have a constitutional right to learn to read and agrees to more funding for Detroit schools.

A federal court recently ruled that underfunded schools in Detroit violated students' right to a basic education. Advocates hope the case is the beginning of a trend.