Can We Defend What’s Working?

A Literacy Evidence Health Check

Positive literacy outcomes matter, but they’re only part of the story. The real question is: Do you have the evidence to understand, explain, and defend what’s driving those results?

Use this literacy evidence health checklist to evaluate the strength of your evidence story across five key areas, from learning outcomes and implementation quality to equity, causality, and stakeholder communication.

This practical tool helps school and district leaders identify gaps in their evidence, uncover potential blind spots, and determine whether they can confidently answer critical questions about what’s working, why it’s working, and whether literacy investments are delivering meaningful value.