Sarah Schwartz:

One of the most influential names in the “science of reading” movement has issued a surprising warning: After years of neglecting to systematically teach students foundational reading skills, he says, some schools may now have moved too far in the other direction.

Phonics—how letters represent sounds—is critical to reading. But once students have mastered its rules, the bulk of their time should be spent working with authentic texts, experts say.

“There are indications, circumstantial indications, that what’s happening is a lot of overteaching,” said Mark Seidenberg, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, at the March 2 annual symposium of the AIM Institute for Learning and Research, a literacy professional development group.

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“It isn’t essential that they need to have three years of instruction about phonics in 128 sessions,” he offered by way of an example in an interview with Education Week. “There’s opportunity costs, and if you do it too much, it’s going to take away from other things that kids need to learn.”

Fast Lane Literacy helps children learn to read in as little as 23 days.