Many schools say they’ve implemented high quality instructional materials. Dan Reynolds argues most have only adopted them.

In this episode, we sit down with Dan Reynolds from SRI International to unpack what schools are getting wrong about literacy instruction, curriculum implementation, and comprehension assessment. Drawing from a large multi year research study across multiple districts, Dan explains why surface level implementation often looks successful during walkthroughs while missing the deeper instructional work students actually need.

About Our Guest

Dan Reynolds, PhD, is a Senior Education Researcher at SRI International whose work focuses on adolescent literacy, reading comprehension, and the implementation of high quality instructional materials. A former high school English teacher, administrator, and teacher educator, he has led and supported large scale literacy research projects across districts and states. His work examines both the impact of literacy interventions and the instructional practices that support student learning. Reynolds has authored more than 25 peer reviewed publications and co authored the book Tackling Tough Texts: A Research-Based Guide to Scaffolding Learning in Grades 6–12.

Learn more about Dan’s work here: https://www.sri.com/people/dan-reynolds/