Why 20% of Kids Still Leave School as Functional Illiterates

                                                               Allie -Alejandra Joyner

Recently, I came across a comment from Allie-Alejandra Joyner, M.Ed.:

Founder, CEO & Creative Director at Create Curiously | Advancing Literacy Through Curiosity, Creativity & Voice

Luqman Michel, I have had many students in my classrooms over the years who might have been described as “shut down” or identified as emerging readers. How I helped these students was by never stopping the development of rich language through stories while also teaching with evidence-based practices. Often, the shift came from reframing their relationship with reading and rebuilding their confidence alongside explicit instruction. Listening to stories is not separate from learning to read. It strengthens language, comprehension, and connection. For many students, that is exactly what helps them re-engage and begin to read.

How I teach Dyslexic kids - Part 2

 

Even consonants are not spared.

Almost all the consonants too represent more than one sound.

When we correctly teach the sounds of letters — that is, without any extraneous “uh” or “huh” noises tacked on — many children still shut down if they haven’t first been taught the letter names. This is because a huge number of everyday words are actually pronounced using the sounds of the letter names themselves, not the isolated phonemes we drill in phonics lessons.

How I teach Dyslexic kids - Part 1

 

Yesterday, an Educator from South Bay asked me how I teach dyslexic kids. Her profile says: ‘Helping young learners grow in reading.’

I started by communicating with her on messenger but thought why not post the conversation here so more may benefit.

Here is our discussion thus far:

The Foundation Trap: Why Mastering Basics Early Is Everything

 

In the last 2 days I noticed many on social media disagreeing with class retention if they haven't mastered the basics. This is the foundation for my post today.

If a child hasn’t learned to read by the end of 1st grade, how will they possibly succeed in 2nd grade?

The Human Mind Is Like the Human Egg: Why Educators Resist Phonics + Memorization Despite Quick Wins for Dyslexic Kids

 

The following discussion on Facebook is another excellent example of ‘The human mind is like the human egg’. Once an initial idea or belief gets in—especially about how children learn to read—the mind forms a protective barrier, shutting out contradictory logic, evidence, or real-world success stories, much like a fertilized egg blocks additional sperm. No amount of logic or examples can change a person’s line of thinking once that first “sperm” (a firmly held teaching philosophy) has taken hold. Educators and researchers often cling to their preferred methods despite clear counterexamples from actual teaching.

Dysteachia, Not Dyslexia

 

I read the following Tweet by @SciAdapt and replied him.

Questions and comments are welcome

Adapt And Thrive @SciAdapt Apr 16

Bro. I'm a sped teacher and 1000% yes. I've expressed this concern with my admin, the psychs, anyone who will listen. The refrain is they should've been identified sooner. Or? I have handled 12 referrals in 4th grade alone this year.

If You Don’t Know Anything, What Would You Think About?

 

The title is the question posed by a retired SPED teacher on Twitter. 

My Answer After Teaching 80+ Smart Kids Who Couldn’t Read"

@SciAdapt, Spot on! The big picture is just a series of small steps—and when we teach those steps right, the rest often falls into place.  I’m an accountant, not a trained teacher. Years ago, I started working with a bright boy who had finished kindergarten + Grade 1 but still couldn’t read a single sentence in English. I knew nothing about phonics, so I grabbed a set of Peter and Jane books. I read a sentence, he repeated it after me. We did this for six months until he could read on his own. Then we flipped it—he read while I helped only on tricky words.  That success made me curious.

From Shame to Triumph: Intelligent Children, Prison Literacy, and Global Contrasts

Many intelligent children falter not because of lack of ability, but because of shame avoidance. When early struggles in reading are met with ridicule or punishment, these children misbehave to mask their difficulties. In supportive systems, they thrive; in punitive ones, they derail.

A comment on LinkedIn and my reply

 

I Received a comment on my post ‘Stop Blaming Kids' 'Poor Phonemic Awareness' — It's the Wrong Letter Sounds, Stupid!’ LINK

Here is the comment by Deanna White - Interdisciplinary Studies Major

Sir, while your success in helping students is commendable, neuroscience offers a clearer explanation for why your "letter-naming" method works—and why "rote memorization" isn't actually what is happening in the brain.

Dyslexia, Disengagement, or Poor Initial Instruction? A Candid Discussion on Reading Failure, Orthographic Mapping, and Rapid Recovery

 

Here is an on-going discussion with a lady who is very knowledgeable and open to discussion.

Cynthia Shevel CALT /TCRS Therapy

Cynthia:

As a Certified Academic Language Therapist, Wilson Practitioner, and Intervention Specialist, I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how dyslexia is identified and supported here in Ohio—and what families actually experience through the process.

For clarity, the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) defines dyslexia as a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language and are often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

 

Stop Blaming Kids' 'Poor Phonemic Awareness' — It's the Wrong Letter Sounds, Stupid!

 

Here are extracts from a Facebook comment on a post I read today.

Emma Hartnell-Baker

It’s difficult as most have poor phonemic awareness and phonological working memory.

My thoughts:

Here they go again. They teach the wrong sounds of letters and then claim that kids have poor phonemic awareness. Read one of many posts on this at: LINK

The Graduation Gap: US Edition – and Lessons for Malaysia

 

A new analysis by Chad Aldeman for The Collaborative for Student Success reveals a stark “Graduation Gap” across US states: high school graduation rates remain high, yet math proficiency lags dramatically behind.

Examples include Florida (90% graduation vs. 44% proficient in Algebra/Geometry), Connecticut (89% vs. 31% college-ready on SAT math), Rhode Island (84% vs. 23%), Washington D.C. (86% vs. 15%), and Tennessee (92% vs. 29%). Gaps are wider in math than reading, larger with externally validated tests, and especially pronounced for low-income students, English learners, and those with disabilities.

Talk Shows Won’t Fix Education — Early Literacy Will

 

Here are extracts from the talk-show by YB Khairy Jamaluddin.

Malaysia’s grade inflation debate misses the deeper crisis: failing to identify and support intelligent children who struggle with reading early on. Until literacy reform takes priority, more A’s will mean less progress.

We are getting more A’s but our international Benchmarking is getting worse.

Is it because of grade inflation?

These are all views and comments that we hear but no one is incentivized to touch this because parents, students, teachers and the education industry, we have a huge tuition industry, everyone is incentivized to just continue to churn As, and not actually sit down and say, ’Hey, wait a minute, more A’s but Benchmark Internationally we are still doing badly’.

The Joy of Reading and the Scandal of Child Illiteracy by Dr Marlynne Grant, March 31, 2026

 

Original article link

 

As usual, here are extracts and my comments:

The Pike Effect, ISA Shadows, and Why Malaysia Struggles in PISA

 

I recently reached out to Enc. Khairy Jamaluddin for a Zoom meeting after listening to the latest Keluar Sekejap podcast. In that episode, he and Enc. Shahril Hamdan highlighted a striking contrast: more than 13,000 students scored straight A's in SPM 2025 — yet Malaysia's PISA scores continue to fall badly. The discussion raised uncomfortable but necessary questions about whether our education system is delivering real excellence or just an illusion of success.