High-quality early care and education are foundational to literacy and language development in the earliest years of life, with long-term implications for school readiness and academic success. When educators are well prepared and supported, and curricula are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive, young children are more likely to develop strong communication and early literacy skills. These outcomes are especially significant for children from historically underserved communities.

Additionally, caregivers are their children’s first teachers and can support children’s pre-literacy, literacy, and language development through community programming as well as digital applications and educational media.  

SRI Education’s early learning and development team studies how early learning settings and professional development models and resources influence language and literacy outcomes for young children. Through this work, we aim to improve children’s access to environments that nurture their curiosity, oral language, and emergent literacy–key building blocks for later reading, academic, and life success. 

Learn more about our work related to literacy and language development for the youngest learners:   

• McKnight Early Learning Pathways 

• Virginia Preschool Initiative-Plus (VPI+) 

• Ready to Learn  

• Sound Town  

• APPROVE 

• Evaluation of the Midwest Expansion of the Child-Parent Center Education Program 

• Integrated Science and Literacy Curriculum Efficacy Study 

• Molly of Denali

Foundational literacy skills such as phonemic awareness and phonics are essential for reading success in the early grades. High-quality instructional materials, paired with strong professional learning, help educators deliver effective, equitable instruction. SRI Education partners with districts and curriculum providers to study how these components support skill development in K–3 classrooms, with a focus on improving outcomes for historically underserved students. 

Many students in grades 4–8 need continued support with foundational skills to fully engage with grade-level content. Our work contributes to evidence-based strategies that help education systems ensure all students are prepared for high school and beyond. SRI Education works with program leaders to evaluate interventions and implement systems that accelerate foundational literacy for older students. Our research and technical assistance inform actionable improvements that help all learners thrive. 

Learn more about our foundational skills work:  

• REL Project On-Track  

• Schusterman Family Philanthropies’ School Systems Partnerships  

• Sounds-Write  

• Reading Apprenticeship for Academic Literacy and Language (RA4ALL) 

Reading instruction must consider how to nurture students’ reading comprehension across subjects while also growing students’ ability to think, discuss, read, and write within disciplines. Even in early elementary classrooms, teachers strive to implement high-quality knowledge-rich comprehension instruction, engage students in discussion, and support students reading complex texts. SRI Education researchers support districts and states to understand how teachers can use high-quality curricula to deliver the best instruction across varied scales, from individual classrooms to whole states and in multi-state studies.   

In middle school and high school classrooms, students develop advanced disciplinary literacy skills. Teachers inspire and guide students through encounters with increasingly complex texts such as intricately structured literary works, historical primary sources layered with historical contexts, and scientific reports anchored in strong science practice but also confronting key science issues such as climate change. Our researchers work on cutting-edge projects evaluating curricula to support middle and high school students tackling these challenges.  

Learn more about our reading comprehension and disciplinary literacy work:  

• Developing Science Assessment for Language Diversity in Early Elementary Classrooms (SALDEE)  

• Schusterman Family Philanthropies’ School Systems Partnerships  

• Reading Apprenticeship 

• Reading Apprenticeship for Academic Literacy and Language (RA4ALL)  

Writing is an important literacy component and an essential communication tool both in and out of school. Through writing, students express and refine their thoughts and opinions, demonstrate content area understandings, and analyze information. Improving students’ writing skills can set them up for college, career, and professional success.  

SRI Education researchers work with program developers, professional learning providers, districts, and states to better understand what works for writing instruction as well as how to effectively integrate reading and writing for all types of learners. We examine the effectiveness of professional development models and curricula on teacher practices and student outcomes across different contexts.  

Learn more about SRI Education’s work related to writing:  

• College-Ready Writers Program Evaluation  

• College, Career, and Community Writers Program evaluation 

• College, Career, and Community Writers scale-up grant evaluation 

• Evaluation of the Pathway to Academic Success Project  

Multilingualism and literacy in multiple languages are educational assets. For educators and policy makers seeking to improve the quality of dual language instruction and the experiences of the multilingual students, SRI researchers have extensive multilingual research and technical assistance expertise.  

We draw on a deep understanding of biliteracy and bilingual education with rigorous methods to support partners across national organizations, states, and districts to understand how policies, programs, and practices shape the experiences and development of multilingual learners.  

We connect partners with evidence-based language and literacy practices and resources, provide formative feedback on instructional and professional development models, and conduct program evaluations. All of this work pushes the field forward to better support this growing population of students.  

Learn more about our work in language and literacy development for multilingual learners: 

• McKnight Early Learning Pathways 

• Bilingual/Biliterate Instruction for Bilingual Youth (BBILY) 

• National Comprehensive Center Multilingual Learner Workgroup 

• Evaluation of the Pathway to Academic Success Project  

SRI Education’s national footprint and experience with large education systems can support partners looking to scale up innovative literacy practices. From partnering with districts on research studies, to working with states on building robust literacy infrastructure, to leading nationwide studies generating high-impact evidence, our researchers understand the distinct needs of teachers, coaches, principals, literacy directors, and superintendents.  

SRI Education’s literacy team brings particular expertise to the implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) and the Science of Reading (SoR). As many states implement SoR initiatives and require that districts adopt HQIM, our literacy team can co-design projects to sustain and deepen HQIM implementation. We have conducted comprehensive observations of foundational skills HQIM such as Fundations and the UFLI Foundations Toolbox alongside knowledge-rich comprehension HQIM such as Core Knowledge Language Arts, EL Education, and Wit & Wisdom. Our reports help districts and states sustain and deepen implementation of these curricula so they can deliver on their promises to teachers and readers across large districts, regions, and states.  

In addition, SRI Education’s LEARN Network leverages our long-standing experience in product development and scaling to support literacy programs in their scaling journeys. LEARN Network product teams include: 

• Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, scaling up the Targeted Reading Instruction program for K–3 readers 

• American Institutes for Research, scaling up Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) Reading, an evidence-based literacy program for students in grades 4–5  

• Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP), scaling up the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI), a Tier II reading intervention for grade 6–9 readers 

Learn more about our large-scale systemic literacy improvement work:  

• LEARN Network 

• Nebraska Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) evaluation 

• Schusterman Family Philanthropies’ School Systems Partnerships  

• Reading Apprenticeship 

• Reading Apprenticeship for Academic Literacy and Language (RA4ALL)