"A round of finger pointing" is how the New York Times described reactions to the reading test results from the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report released in April. The test scores remained virtually flat, because gains made by the nation's top students were negated by declines in test scores by students at the bottom of the reading scale.

The latest NAEP report only confirms what many educators and policymakers already know: The latest knowledge about the best ways to teach reading has yet to be applied on a widespread, consistent basis. And the students being left behind are mostly male, black, or Hispanic students in poor, urban neighborhoods.

So what is the right approach to reading, and how do we get this knowledge into the hands of teachers who need it? The latest research-based approaches are outlined in such documents as the Learning First Alliance's Every Child Reading: An Action Plan, the National Academy of Sciences' 1998 research synthesis Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, and, more recently, the Report of the National Reading Panel, which identify scientifically validated reading practices.

Effective literacy programs are showing promising results. Recent issues of ASCD's Educational Leadership have highlighted several such programs. The program 1,000 Days to Success is a growing network of California elementary schools with a "no excuse" approach to reading achievement. These schools are showing progress in their commitment to "ensuring 100 percent literacy" by second grade. Empowering Families Through Literacy is a program that uses community-based "weekend schools" in Arlington, Va., to work with parents and students in a community with a large Hispanic population. And the Northern Lights School District in Alberta, Canada, developed a curriculum to give students in grades 4 through 9 a second chance at learning to read and write. The Second Chance program relied on literacy research and staff development to design and implement a multidimensional program to acquire and improve reading skills.

Policymakers are also taking to heart the statistics from such reports as NAEP. For example, at least 20 state legislators have recently passed child literacy laws. President Bush also has focused on the teaching of reading as a central issue of his educational legislative agenda outlined in No Child Left Behind.

It is wrong to assume, however, that educators in isolation can effect the changes needed to ensure reading success. What provisions will help educators support student achievement in this area? In its report Every Child Reading: A Professional Development Guide, the Learning First Alliance—an organization of 12 leading national education associations including ASCD—has identified six conditions:

1. Everyone who affects student learning needs to be involved.
2. Student standards, curricular frameworks, textbooks, instructional programs, and assessments should be closely aligned.
3. Professional development needs to be given adequate time and included in school as part of the work day.
4. Colleagues, mentors, and outside experts need to be involved in professional development programs.
5. Strong instructional leadership should be present.
6. Schools need to commit to a long-range plan with adequate funding.

Reading is the most important gateway to academic learning. It takes educators and policymakers at all levels to support the successful teaching of reading. They can do so by developing procedures for the selection of high-quality, research-based materials; providing time and resources for relevant, thorough, ongoing professional development; and creating environments that foster open communication and cooperation between families and schools.

When it comes to finger pointing, perhaps we should all point those fingers inward, since each of us—policymaker, educator, parent, and citizen—can play a role in ensuring that every student achieves reading success.