America’s Literacy Story
Updated: 5 days ago
What the Data Tell Us—and Why Texas Should Pay Attention
By Misti M. Green | Founder & CEO, iLEAD Consulting LLC | October 2026
The literacy landscape in America continues to shift, and the most recent national data give us reason to look closely at where students are now, where they were before COVID-19, and what has happened since. The story is not the same for every student, every state, or even every age group. Some younger readers are beginning to regain ground, while other data show that significant reading gaps remain.
For me, this conversation is especially important in Texas. Texas is home, and after nearly 30 years in education, I am deeply invested in what happens in our classrooms. I began my career as a reading teacher, and although my work has since taken me into campus and district leadership, school improvement, curriculum and instructional systems, and national educational consulting, I will always look at these numbers through the lens of what they mean for students and the educators serving them.
In this edition of iLEAD | Insights & Research, I examine national literacy trends, what the data reveal about different groups of students, the Texas literacy landscape, recent STAAR results, and what these findings mean for instruction, leadership, and the systems we build around teachers and students.
The data deserve our attention, but the numbers are not the destination. The more important question is what we do with what they show us.
In this brief
Readers will explore national Grade 4 reading trends before and after COVID-19; differences across regions, states, and student populations; the connection between reading and writing in Texas; current Texas STAAR and accountability data; and the instructional and leadership questions these findings raise for schools and districts.
Click the link below to read the full article and take a closer look at what the data reveal about literacy and the questions they raise for our schools.
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