Phonics in, literacy crisis out?: California’s push to get kids reading
Phonics, a method that teaches the connection between letters and sounds, is at the center of a new push by California lawmakers to close the state’s early childhood literacy gap. A bill backed by dozens of educational nonprofits would standardize how students are taught to read across public schools.
The science behind reading
Research shows that children begin developing the building blocks of reading, including recognizing letter sounds and understanding how spoken words are broken down into smaller parts, often before they even enter school.
Researchers say these early skills, known as phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge, are strong predictors of how well students will later decode words and comprehend text. Experts say children must first grasp how letters and sounds connect before they can become fluent readers.
Long-term studies show that early language skills strongly predict reading comprehension by the end of elementary school, the very outcome California lawmakers aim to improve.
Others have criticized a focus on phonics. A 2022 study by the UCL Institute of Education in London suggests that a phonics curriculum that focuses on blending sounds to form words may not improve a child’s long-term reading comprehension.
Low test scores prompt California bill
The proposal targets a new approach to not only boost reading scores but also lay the foundation for how young children learn to read. AB 1121 amends current law in response to what the Legislature deems a literacy crisis.
California’s fourth graders scored an average of 212 out of 500 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, with only 29% reading at a proficient level.
“Far too many children are not reading at grade level by the end of grade 3 and will not complete elementary school with the literacy skills and language development they need to succeed academically in middle school and high school,” the bill says.
By Jan. 1, 2027, the State Board of Education must adopt new instructional materials for all grades from kindergarten through eighth grade. These materials must align with the most recent academic content standards and rely on proven methods for teaching foundational reading skills.
According to the bill, ”A vast majority of children falling behind are economically disadvantaged, disproportionately Black and Latino and English learners.”
To keep the bill moving forward, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-West Covina, worked with lawmakers to ease one key requirement: not all teachers would be mandated to complete the training. The bill, now known as AB 1454, also directs the State Department of Education to create a new list of recommended, science-based materials.
Districts would still have the option to use materials not on the state-approved list, as long as they can show how those materials meet the law’s requirements.
Growing support for legislation and what critics say
Rubio reintroduced the legislation this year after it failed to gain enough support in 2024. This time, more than 40 education and advocacy groups are backing the measure.
One of the bill’s supporters, EdVoice, says the legislation could help reverse stagnant student test scores by promoting more effective reading instruction.
A petition with more than 900 signatures encourages the community to back the proposal, but the law didn’t initially receive praise from everyone. A joint letter to Rubio from the California Teachers Association (CTA) and groups advocating for Spanish-speaking students said all students deserve equity and multilingual education across the state.
The coalition says the original proposal “Promotes a narrow, one-size-fits-all approach that is inconsistent with research, misaligned with California’s current frameworks, and potentially harmful to English learners, multilingual students, and other students whose academic needs require oral language development, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.”
In response to the criticism, Rubio made additional changes to the legislation, which helped secure support from the CTA and ensure the bill would clear the Assembly. The legislation awaits a final vote in the Assembly before heading to the Senate.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
