How Sylvan Learning Is Helping Solve the Nation’s Literacy Crisis

In the wake of the pandemic, the world has grown increasingly virtual — and education is no exception. While there are many benefits to virtual learning for both teachers and students — such as flexibility, increased accessibility and students developing technological competency at a young age — it’s currently failing some students, largely the K–2 demographic.

Literacy crisis growth

Sylvan Learning centers across the country are reporting a high number of students who lack basic reading skills, including a large increase in students who have yet to master the alphabet before third grade.

This is not a new phenomenon. One 2019 study shows that reading competency scores nationwide were on the decline even before the pandemic. Now, COVID and the shift to virtual learning have exacerbated the issue.

Strong early reading instruction includes multi-sensory activities, meaning students use different senses to explore and understand early reading skills. For example, we teach students what sound the S makes, how it feels different from the T sound when forming the sounds with your mouth. We have them trace letters with their fingers. We ask them what animal a letter looks like for visual association. We have them sort objects that begin with the letter S. All of these experiences help students embrace early reading and all of the sub-skills needed to make students successful readers.

It all sounds so simple — and it is, but it’s an immersive learning experience. The more students can see, feel and hear letters and words, the better they’ll grasp early reading skills. The activities listed above are more difficult to administer through virtual learning, so we lose that immersion — that connection.

Socialization also plays a critical role in students’ early learning. In schools and in Sylvan centers, we are seeing elementary students who started the 2021-2022 academic year having never been taught how to walk in lines, share, take turns or sit quietly while the teacher talks or reads a story. Teachers in grades 1–3 need to use time allocated for instruction to teach students behaviors they should have learned in kindergarten, behaviors they missed because schools were virtual during these key years.

Third grade challenges

Third grade is a critical time for young learners that can determine the trajectory of their academic careers, and in many cases, their lives. Studies show that students who don’t read proficiently in third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school or fail to graduate. This is because third grade is when students transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Students who aren’t ready to make that leap are quickly left behind.

What we’re seeing now is a larger population of students who are not ready, and likely won’t be ready, to make that leap.

This is especially true for special needs students, minorities and those who live in poverty or for whom English is a second language. These students, who were already underserved before the pandemic, have been the most negatively impacted since. And these students are at an even greater risk of not graduating high school if they cannot read proficiently by third grade.

Like the pandemic itself and so many problems that have come in its wake, there is no easy solution. But as we become more aware of the issues facing our young learners, many schools and parents are turning to resources like Sylvan Learning for help.

Sylvan Learning uses a multi-sensory approach to teaching early reading that mirrors a quality in-class experience. Sylvan’s multi-sensory approach works well both in-person or virtually, which sets it apart from a traditional classroom. With the ability to provide qualified instructors during a historic teacher shortage, along with both in-school and after-school tutoring and support for students who need it most, Sylvan is uniquely positioned to face the literacy crisis head-on.

The pandemic has forever changed the lives of people around the world. Students are not immune to that. Together, starting by providing the right tools and the right approach during the crucial K–2 years, we can nurture our young students and position them to thrive in a post-pandemic world.