American education is in crisis

From the Field · Originally shared on LinkedIn by Gary D. Soto (August 2026)

Only 35% of America’s twelfth-graders performed at or above NAEP Proficient in reading in 2024.[2]

American education is in crisis.

This is not a claim about state-defined grade-level proficiency. NAEP Proficient is its own national performance standard. But the result is still stark: nearly two-thirds of students finishing high school did not reach that standard in reading.

We cannot keep treating this as a problem that belongs only to reading teachers or elementary schools. Students need to read, understand, question, and use demanding text in every subject and at every grade level.

A new program will not solve the crisis by itself. District leaders need a coherent instructional system: strong core teaching, Systematic Explicit Instruction, useful evidence of student learning, timely intervention, and sustained support for teachers as they put the work into practice.

The question is whether that system is visible in every classroom or only described in the district plan.

Gary D. Soto Consulting helps district and site leaders connect The Science of Reading, Best First Instruction, evidence-based MTSS, and instructional leadership so that improvement reaches daily practice.

If your district is ready to confront the reading crisis with more than another short-term initiative, message me or connect with GDS at https://garydsoto.com/card/.

#ReadingCrisis #ScienceOfReading #InstructionalLeadership #MTSS