Dan Reynolds

Senior Education Researcher, SRI Education

Dan Reynolds, PhD, is a national thought leader in adolescent literacy, reading comprehension, and translating research to practice at scale. He has co-authored more than 25 peer-reviewed research articles and a book on literacy instruction. He has particular expertise in adolescent literacy and has led multiple experimental trials of adolescent literacy interventions. He has also conducted qualitative analyses within those trials to better understand the experiences of teachers and students and to characterize the instructional scaffolding that supports literacy growth.  

At SRI, Reynolds provides content expertise on literacy projects focused on classroom instruction. He recently led an evaluation of a structured linguistic phonics curriculum with districts in New York and Arkansas, which included an experimental impact study, teacher surveys, teacher interviews, and student focus groups. In addition, he is a subject matter expert on an evaluation of the Reading Apprenticeship for Academic Literacy Learning (RA4ALL) project, advising the study team on measures of adolescent foundational skills and reading comprehension in a trial across 50 schools and seven states. These projects rigorously evaluate student learning impacts while also unpacking the complexities of literacy instruction.  

Reynolds’ expertise also supports a portfolio of work on systems-level literacy improvement. Previously, he served on the Ohio state literacy team and contributed to the first version of Ohio’s Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement. Currently, Reynolds is the co-principal investigator of a statewide evaluation tracking the implementation and impact of Nebraska’s $55 million Comprehensive State Literacy Development grant. The project examines statewide literacy systems coherence, teacher and leader training in structured literacy, and literacy HQIM selection and implementation. He is also a subject matter expert on a study of the Urban District Literacy Collaborative that is investigating the systemic conditions for professional learning and literacy improvement in four large urban districts in four states, with a particular focus on how text-based comprehension instruction can be improved at scale. For these projects, Reynolds works with state and district leaders to support and assess the effective implementation of large-scale literacy reform initiatives. 

Before joining SRI, Reynolds was a high school English teacher and administrator, a university teacher educator and education department chair, and a provider of literacy professional development. He brings that range of experiences to understanding complex challenges in improving literacy instruction in classrooms, schools, districts, and states.  

Reynolds holds a PhD in language, literacy, and culture from Vanderbilt University and is a What Works Clearinghouse-certified reviewer of group design studies (version 5.0). 

Key projects

• Evaluation of a Structured Linguistic Phonics Intervention for Students in Grades 4–8 
• Evaluation of Reading Apprenticeship for Academic Literacy Learning (RA4ALL) 
• Study of School System Approaches to Strengthening Literacy Instruction 
• Evaluation of Nebraska’s $55m Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant 
• Scaling Open Educational Resources Across Tennessee Colleges and Universities