Through a five-year research and development initiative supported by AERDF, Reading Reimagined focused on one underexamined area of literacy development: advanced decoding skills in grades 3–8.

Reading Reimagined tested the relationship between decoding skills and reading comprehension; this relationship, known as the decoding threshold, describes the intersection between a text’s complexity and the skills of the reader. When a text is too demanding for a reader’s decoding skills, comprehension falters.

Reading Reimagined concluded its time-bound cycle as an AERDF program in 2026 after five years of advanced, inclusive R&D. The program’s legacy lives on through our funded partners and their continued work to improve literacy instruction for older students.