Hard Words: Why Aren't Our Kids Being Taught to Read?

Sold a Story by APM Reports

Mar 23, 202300:52:20Society & Culture

Jack Silva had a problem. He was the chief academic officer of a school district in Pennsylvania, and more than 40% of the kids in his district were not proficient readers. He didn't know much about how kids learn to rea...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from Sold a Story.

Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Oct 1, 2026 - 00:03:10

Sold a Story is back with a new season that goes beyond reading. Emily Hanford explores an approach to te...

‘Dyslexia and the Reading Wars’: Emily Hanford's Conversation with The New Yorker’s David Owen

Apr 28, 2026 - 01:00:42

The New Yorker staff writer David Owen opened a recent piece with a personal story: To hide that she coul...

Emily Hanford LIVE with Reid Lyon and Margaret Goldberg

Dec 9, 2025 - 00:57:46

Early in her teaching career, Margaret Goldberg was skeptical of the science of reading. Today, she is wo...

14: The Cuts

Aug 21, 2025 - 00:37:44

Education research is at a turning point in the United States. The Trump administration is slashing gover...

13: The List

Mar 6, 2025 - 00:33:53

Steubenville became a model of reading success. Then a new law in Ohio put it all at risk. In this episod...

12: The Evidence

Feb 27, 2025 - 00:30:35

There’s a name for the program at the heart of Steubenville’s remarkable reading results. It’s called Suc...

11: The Outlier

Feb 20, 2025 - 00:31:04

There’s a school district in eastern Ohio where virtually all the students become good readers by the tim...

The Podcast That's Changing Education

Nov 1, 2024 - 00:03:14

Nationally acclaimed journalist Emily Hanford's work is changing the ways schools around the country teac...