On September 3rd, Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) held a hearing for the Committee on Education and Workforce, “Foundations First: Reclaiming Reading and Math through Proven Instruction.”
Rep. Kiley began the hearing by stating that one of the biggest reasons for American educational decline is the fact that “schools moved away from grounding their instruction in the science of learning.” He noted the now-famous example of schools throwing out phonics education, a trend that has thankfully been mostly reversed, with forty states having passed science of reading legislation in their public schools.
“There is a similar science behind learning math skills, where foundational skills like the four basic functions of arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) are taught so that students can perform these functions automatically, and students are given step-by-step, direct instruction in problem-solving,” Rep. Kiley noted. “But in too many places, this approach has been overtaken by teaching philosophies that reject direct instruction from teachers, devalue content knowledge, and insist on student-led exploration.”
The hearing highlighted several education professionals who corroborated this.
Chandra Roughton, the Founder and CEO of Luminous Minds, which provides science-of-learning-based educational resources, explained that with structured literacy (i.e., phonics) as opposed to balanced literacy, “kindergartners explicitly learning letter-sound correspondence, practicing decoding with decodable texts, and building skills progressively until they can confidently read and understand grade-level material. I have witnessed the joy on a child’s face when they realize they can read—not by guessing, but by applying skills they have been taught.”
“A literate society is a strong society,” said Jhanae Wingfield, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Early Childhood and Literacy Education at Rutgers University—Newark. “Literacy opens doors to education, employment, and civic participation. It is also central to preserving culture, passing down traditions, and sustaining community life across generations. Decades of research have demonstrated that children who grow up in households and schools with strong literacy support are more likely to graduate, secure steady employment, and break the cycle of poverty. By contrast, limited access to literacy resources is closely connected to lower earnings, poorer health outcomes, and higher rates of involvement with the criminal justice system.”
Highlighting the successes of Louisiana and Alabama, Rep. Kiley brought on two educators from the states to discuss their successes.
Cade Brumley, the Louisiana State Superintendent of Education, spoke about his state’s incredible progress in education: “On the 2019 Nation’s Report Card, the state of Louisiana ranked 50th in the country for 4th-grade reading and math. Since then, Louisiana has led the entire country in literacy on two consecutive NAEP cycles and now, Louisiana’s 4th graders rank 16th in the country in literacy. Similarly, Louisiana has improved 12 places in 4th-grade math and ranked in the top 5 for overall math growth in 2024.”
Why was Louisiana so successful? Brumley pointed to “comprehensive education reform,” including an emphasis on “getting back to the basics, valuing teaching professionals, and expanding educational freedom and parental rights.”
The basics, said Brumley, were returning to science of reading and foundational mathematical principles. “But no reform succeeds without those who stand at the front of the classroom,” he told the committee.
Moreover, Louisiana implemented a “Let Teachers Teach” initiative in order to value teachers, who told policymakers that “they are not social workers, bureaucracy must be reduced, and discipline must be restored” in order to have functional schools. These recommendations are very much aligned with those in Independent Women’s report, “Give Teachers a Break: Cutting Red Tape to Unleash the Potential of America’s Great Teachers.”
The state also expanded school choice. “Alongside strong traditional public schools, we are cultivating a portfolio that includes high-quality public charters, non-public schools, and recognizing the value of home-study families,” Brumley said. “With true educational freedom, Louisiana must continue its efforts to fund students—not systems—as a rising tide lifts all boats.” By further emphasizing parental rights, he added, Louisiana “worked to deepen trust between parents and schools by focusing on core academics and expanding transparency.”
Brent Harrison, the Superintendent of Saraland City Schools in Saraland, Alabama, shared a similar success story. Despite serving a socioeconomically disadvantaged population, he runs the “top-performing district in the state relative to [their] poverty level.” What’s the reason for this success? “Beyond our strong culture,” he said, “we attribute much of our success to the curriculum we use and the impact of recent legislation. The Alabama Literacy Act of 2019 established the Science of Reading as the state-approved curriculum and introduced a summative assessment for third grade. Students must demonstrate proficiency on the ACAP Reading subtest to advance to fourth grade.” Their methods of instruction are data-driven, he added, which is what has allowed their students to flourish.
It’s a positive sign that our legislators are looking to move toward tried-and-true methods and away from contemporary educational fads. At the end of the day, returning to what is proven to work is the only way American education—and American students—will succeed.