Why the Science of Reading Is a Natural Fit for Charter Schools

The rising dissatisfaction with traditional district public schools, as well as the growing popularity of school choice, have driven many parents to consider alternative schooling options. These options include private schools, microschooling, and public charter schools. While the boost in enrollment is a welcome sight for many charters, it also presents two challenges. Charters must provide a more academically rigorous and innovative education than district schools and prove results to the authorizers who monitor their performance. 

Charter school leaders can tackle both challenges using a science of reading-based approach. The science of reading itself isn’t a singular method. It refers to a vast body of multi-disciplinary research on how children learn to read. By aligning instruction with this research, charter schools can provide students with a high-quality literacy education that other schools fail to deliver and that yields measurable improvements in students’ reading proficiency. 

In this blog post, we’ll break down why such benefits matter to charter schools and how the science of reading aligns perfectly with charters’ culture of innovation, equity, and impact. 

1. Mission Alignment: Equity at the Core

Many charter schools were founded to close achievement gaps, particularly between white students and students of color. Indeed, education reformer and former American Federation of Teachers president Albert Shanker, credited with providing the original vision of charter schools, believed charters should promote social mobility for economically disadvantaged children and social cohesion among diverse student populations.

This commitment to equity continues to permeate the charter school sector today. According to data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ (NAPCS), 70% of charter school students are students of color compared to 53% of district students. Charter school students are also more likely than public school students to qualify for free and reduced lunch programs. 

Given these diverse demographics and the equity-focused origins of charter schools, it’s only natural for charter school leaders to seek instructional frameworks aligned with those same values. Fortunately, the science of reading ensures every student—including students of color, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities—has access to high-quality, evidence-based instruction. 

Research shows that 95% of learners can read proficiently when given a curriculum grounded in the science of reading. This is because a Structured Literacy approach—the practical application of the science of reading—teaches all of the components necessary for reading success in a way that is beneficial to all students. Learners receive an explicit, systematic, cumulative, diagnostic, and responsive education as well as targeted support, which promotes the same educational equity to which charter schools have historically devoted themselves. 

2. Differentiation and Flexibility for Diverse Student Populations

Structured Literacy instruction is inherently suited to flexibly meet the diverse needs of charter school students. For example, the explicit nature of science of reading-based instruction is shown to help multilingual learners by clarifying the differences between English and Spanish phonologies. 

At the same time, educators can aid students’ literacy growth by highlighting cross-linguistic connections. This integration of students’ multilingualism into instruction is supported by studies finding that reading skills transfer between languages, strengthening students’ literacy in both. 

Meanwhile, the diagnostic and responsive principles of Structured Literacy support differentiated instruction. For instance, solutions grounded in the science of reading can use adaptive blended learning technology to differentiate learning for multilingual learners, special education students, struggling readers, and high achievers. The technology also gives teachers detailed reports on students’ progress, enabling them to tailor instruction accordingly. In this way, Structured Literacy appeals to charter schools’ entrepreneurial ethos of customizing solutions for their unique student body. 

3. Data-Driven Instruction That Matches Charter Accountability Culture

Charter schools are accountable to many stakeholders, including students, parents, community organizations, and authorizers. School leaders are especially beholden to the last group, as authorizers have the power to close charters if they fail to demonstrate academic gains. 

Indeed, the possibility of closure is a real threat to many charter schools. According to an analysis, more than 25% of public charter schools shutter within the first five years. To minimize the chance of this occurring, school leaders must invest in data-driven instruction and literacy solutions that provide a return on investment. 

This is where science of reading-based solutions like those in the Lexia® portfolio can be a game-changer. By inherently supporting differentiation and offering instruction responsive to individual student needs, Lexia solutions reinforce the data-driven, accountability-focused environment of charter schools by providing immediate insight into how different students are progressing—from struggling to advanced readers—and helping educators deliver timely, targeted support to each learner. One charter school who partnered with Lexia saw their students’ reading proficiency jump from  10 to 40%. Ultimately, 82% of the school’s learners were found to be working at or above grade level after using Lexia products with fidelity. 

4. Teacher Support That Sustains Change 

Charters often operate with lean teams and high teacher turnover. A  2010 study from the National Charter School Research Project reported that charter schools lost between 20 and 25% of their teachers each year.

Today, 13% of private and charter school teachers have fewer than three years of experience compared to 7% of public school teachers. As Daniel Buck, an assistant principal at a classical charter school, wrote, this shortage “leaves charter schools exhausting resources and administrative time training new hires.” It also puts additional responsibilities on more experienced charter school teachers, leading to burnout. 

School leaders can mitigate this issue with the help of science of reading-based solutions that offer scalable professional development and training. Lexia provides robust, evidence-based professional learning that empowers teachers with the confidence to deliver effective instruction consistently. Educators gain the knowledge and skills needed to deliver quality reading instruction. They also receive ongoing support to maintain quality teaching and sustain students’ literacy success.   

By investing in practical and proven professional training, charter schools can close teacher knowledge gaps, improve instruction, and accelerate literacy growth. Recent studies corroborate this, with one study finding that a literacy reform initiative that provided teachers with professional development based on the science of reading generated “significant (and cost-effective) improvements in [students’] ELA achievement.”

5. Innovation Grounded in Evidence

Innovation is a core characteristic of charter schools. After all, when Albert Shanker proposed his idea of charter schools, he envisioned them as laboratories that would “allow teachers to experiment with innovative approaches to educating students.” But while innovative practices are necessary for education transformation, they must be grounded in rigorous evidence. Otherwise, such approaches will fail to produce or sustain positive change.

Fortunately, charter schools have a research-backed solution in science of reading-based instruction. According to a survey of 600 reading teachers, 90% of teachers whose schools adopted this evidence-based approach experienced “measurable improvements in their students’ reading skills.” But, despite the demonstrated success of this approach and the passage of over 100 laws supporting it, 61% of teachers still report using the unsubstantiated three-cueing system to teach beginning readers. 

Therein lies the opportunity for charter schools. Charters that implement evidence-based methods will outpace other schools that are slower to adopt, thus honoring charter schools’ legacy of innovation. At the same time, charters will increase their chances of outperforming competitors by investing in solutions proven to accelerate students’ literacy growth.  

A Natural Extension of Charter Values

The science of reading isn’t just a fit for charter schools. It’s a natural extension of what charters represent: innovation, equity, differentiation, and impact. Literacy partners like Lexia advance these core values by providing progressive, comprehensive, and research-proven curricular and professional learning solutions. With these resources, students are engaged, educators are empowered, and charter schools are supported in their missions to help every learner thrive. To discover how Lexia drives real-world results for charter schools and their students using  science of reading-based programs, read one of our charter case studies.