Emily Hanford

Here’s a reading list put together by Emily Hanford, host and lead producer of our podcast Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong.

Initial gains from first-grade intervention didn’t last and kids performed worse in third and fourth grade.

The education professors double down on a flawed approach that encourages pictures and context to read words. Heinemann — their publisher — faces harsh criticism.

In a major shift, the controversial figure in the fight over how to teach reading now says that beginning readers should focus on sounding out words, according to a document obtained by APM Reports.

A false assumption about what it takes to be a skilled reader has created deep inequalities among U.S. children, putting many on a difficult path in life.

A federal court recently ruled that underfunded schools in Detroit violated students' right to a basic education. Advocates hope the case is the beginning of a trend.

A first of its kind review finds Lucy Calkins' materials don't align with the science of reading.

For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't know there's anything wrong with it.

After our recent examination of why American kids aren't being taught to read well, we received a ton of questions, mostly from parents. So we went to the experts to get answers.

Scientific research has shown how children learn to read and how they should be taught. But many educators don't know the science and, in some cases, actively resist it. As a result, millions of kids are being set up to fail.

For Katy Sorto, college seemed like the way to a different life. But she had no idea how hard it would be.

At 19, Mario Martinez felt fortunate to have escaped his rough neighborhood and enrolled in a community college. But the odds that he would earn his degree and achieve the life he wanted were still against him.

Colleges have long offered a pathway to success for just about anyone. But new research shows that with the country growing ever more economically divided, colleges are not doing enough to help students from poor families achieve the American Dream.

A first-generation college graduate reflects on moving up America's class ladder.

Economists dig into the data to understand which schools are doing the most to help revive the American Dream.

Almost a third of Americans who take out loans to pay for college don't get a degree.

Charter schools cut football to win minds. Now to win hearts, they're bringing it back.

Struggling to juggle school, work and child care, most of them won't make it to graduation.

Despite efforts to require lessons on civil rights, outdated textbooks indicate little has changed.

They're being ignored as the nation tries to ramp up degree completion.

A recent APM Reports documentary showed how schools aren't adequately complying with a decades-old federal law but new state laws are failing to help struggling readers, too.

The school district needed a new approach. The teachers needed training.

Resources and extended reading materials for the documentary Hard to Read.

There are proven ways to help people with dyslexia learn to read, and a federal law that's supposed to ensure schools provide kids with help. But across the country, public schools are denying children proper treatment and often failing to identify them with dyslexia in the first place.

As in many parts of the country, remote McDowell County in West Virginia is having a hard time finding and keeping teachers. Vacancies are often filled by substitutes unqualified for the roles they must assume, and the isolated location deters many new hires.