Why reading teachers should slow down and focus on accuracy

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Louisa Moats: In my view, mastery — or that means say 96-97-98% accuracy — in word reading is essential for being able to become a fluent reader and to read with understanding. So there really isn't any payoff in touching on all the skills that are in a list of standards or a list of grade-level standards. Where does that get us? It gets us to the point of maybe putting a check mark by a skill. I taught it, but if they didn't learn it, we haven't done the job. It's better to teach to mastery even if a student's pace of learning is slower, because eventually it may take them longer, but they'll get to the goal. The other way, they're much less likely to achieve the end that we all want.