The U.S. Department of Education is placing a greater emphasis on evidence-based reading instruction across several federal grant programs, research initiatives and teacher-support efforts, the agency announced Sept. 9.
The department said its approach will favor practices associated with the “science of reading,” a broad body of research addressing how children learn to read. Those practices typically include explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
The initiative does not establish a new nationwide curriculum. Instead, the department is using grant priorities to influence which projects receive federal support while leaving states, school districts and educators responsible for many instructional decisions.
According to the department’s announcement, nearly $500 million has been awarded through 49 Education Innovation and Research grants during the past two years. Seventeen of those grants went to state education agencies.
The program supports research and implementation involving tutoring, instructional programs and professional development. The department said literacy projects aligned with its evidence-based reading priority will receive increased attention.
Federal officials also anticipate awarding approximately $70 million through 12 Teacher Quality Partnership grants. Those grants support collaborations between colleges and school districts that prepare prospective teachers.
An additional 16 Supporting Effective Educator Development grants, worth approximately $90 million, are expected to fund educator-certification programs, professional development and literacy coaching.
Those awards were anticipated but had not yet been announced when the department issued its statement.
Four Innovative Approaches to Literacy grants totaling more than $16 million have already been awarded, according to the department. That program serves children from birth through fifth grade by supporting access to books, family literacy activities and teacher development.
The agency also reported providing $256 million in continuation funding through the Comprehensive Literacy State Development program. The money went to 24 states, outlying areas and the Bureau of Indian Education for literacy plans, teacher preparation, instructional materials and coaching.
Another $3.7 million is being awarded for a National Center on Academic Interventions, which will provide technical support intended to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Evidence-based literacy instruction is a required component of that program.
The department cited falling test scores as the basis for making literacy a federal priority. In the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 31% of fourth graders and 30% of eighth graders performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level, meaning roughly seven in 10 scored below that benchmark. Average reading scores declined by two points in both grades from 2022, according to The Nation’s Report Card.
Scoring below NAEP Proficient does not necessarily mean that a student cannot read or is performing below grade level. The National Center for Education Statistics describes NAEP Proficient as demonstrating “solid academic performance” and competency over challenging material. Students may possess basic or partial reading skills while scoring below that standard.
The department also pointed to results for high school seniors and the OECD’s PISA 2025 international assessment. Federal officials said the results show widening disparities, with lower-performing American students losing the equivalent of approximately a year and a half of reading instruction compared with 2015.
The Institute of Education Sciences, the department’s research division, will also make literacy a central focus of its fiscal year 2027 grantmaking. Regional Educational Laboratories have developed instructional resources addressing reading comprehension in kindergarten through third grade, differentiated early-reading instruction and interventions for students in grades six through eight.
In its announcement, the Trump administration contrasted the literacy emphasis with diversity, equity and inclusion programs pursued under the previous administration. That comparison reflects the administration’s policy position; the release did not provide an analysis showing how much literacy funding had previously been diverted to DEI initiatives or whether eliminating those programs produced the announced grant funding.
The effectiveness of the broader initiative will depend on which programs receive grants, how states and school districts implement them and whether subsequent student assessments show measurable improvement. Many of the cited grants are continuing or repurposed federal programs, rather than programs newly created by the administration.
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