Kerry Hempenstall has published a series of 50 documents focused on teaching reading.

See the range at: https://www.nifdi.org/resources/hempenstall-blog/kerry-s-complete-list-of-blogs.html

In this piece, I’m addressing just one particular paper:

“Pages and pages on stages (reading stages, that is).”

This document is quite large and was released back in 2013. So, it was published more than 10 years ago, and many of the internal authors go back further in time - largely 1970’s to late 1990’s.

This paper can be seen below. 

This original paper being old, I decided I’d make a new short version that differs from the original by addressing recent research – only from 2020 to 2025.

This new brief version of the “Pages and Pages” document is intended to be seen as a recent, briefer addition to the original – but not to replace it.

My plan is to find up-to-date articles on the same topic – and only consider publications years go from 2020 up to year 2025. The old research has publications that are largely 1970’s to late 1990’s – a big difference from 2025.

My new document is created by seeking only papers incorporated from 2020 and up to year 2025.

So, what did researchers in the past find about stages in reading, and now what does this new study find on this new research.

This should display changes as my large Pages doc is getting old -

I was pleased with it as a worthwhile document, and there were 34,358 viewers of the original up to now.

I hope that analyses of my new document along with the old one, we’ll find some changes that produce worthwhile consideration.

What sort of differences are noticed? Here’s one:

It’s interesting how, not so long ago, explicit instructions were not a standard - they were certainly not! Are we seeing a change?

It’s interesting how not so long ago explicit instruction was not a standard position. Now a term used in research areas, and also in parliament!

I have taken an interest in my numerous papers, and how that they are getting old! My plan is to go back to the various topics I addressed years ago, and see how some issues may have changed.”

AI Overview

“In education, "reading stages" refer to the distinct developmental levels children go through as they learn to read, progressing from basic letter recognition and sound association to fluent comprehension, typically including stages like emergent reading, early reading, transitional reading, and fluent reading; each stage signifies different skills and abilities a child is developing as they become proficient readers.”

Some of my thoughts

“Over the years, a number of researchers have developed models of reading development based on stages (Chall, 1979; Ehri, 1993, 1994; Frith, 1985). Are they worth knowing about? Is the attainment of literacy somehow related to successful negotiation of these stages? Even if there is no consensus about whether or which stages are important, might the stage approach still provide useful information to guide intervention? Can student progress and success be hastened through such information?

Alternatively, might it be that a focus upon stages merely reflects a kind of educational voyeurism with no implications for practice? If this latter were the case, then the issues raised might be of academic interest but perhaps not assigned a high priority for curriculum attention.”

“After half a century of advocacy associated with instruction using minimal guidance, it appears that there is no body of sound research that supports using the technique with anyone other than the most expert students. Evidence from controlled experimental (a.k.a. “gold standard”) studies almost uniformly supports full and explicit instructional guidance rather than partial or minimal guidance for novice to intermediate learners. These findings and their associated theories suggest teachers should provide their students with clear, explicit instruction rather than merely assisting students in attempting to discover knowledge themselves” (Clark, Kirschner, & Sweller, 2012, p.11).”

Pages and pages on stages (reading stages, that is).

https://www.nifdi.org/resources/hempenstall-blog/392-pages-and-pages-on-stages-reading-stages-that-is.html

A history of disputes about reading instruction

https://www.nifdi.org/news-latest-2/blog-hempenstall/396-a-history-of-disputes-about-reading-instruction

 What challenged phonics? (2023)

What was newer was the “whole language” approach to reading. The idea was to teach words rather than letters. It was persuasive in the mid-20th century, when “Dick and Jane” books replaced phonics-based McGuffey Readers. In the whole-language approach, students are shown simple sentences and learn by logical association.11 Mar 2023

Opinion | Cut the politics. Phonics is the best way to teach reading. The Washington Post 
https://www.washingtonpost.com › opinions › 2023/03/11

So, was Whole Language taking over?

“There is less flag waving these days, and terms such as balanced literacy instruction are more likely to be employed (Moats, 2000).

An outcome of this inclusiveness was a move away from using the term whole language and simply using literacy. "To us the principles underpinning the word literacy were similar but did not bring with it the negative connotations. …

Whole language is still with us, strongly embedded in current curriculum, pedagogy and assessment strategies. Adversaries of whole language still complain that the term whole language may not be used however the philosophy is alive and well in each state system” (Cambourne & Turbill, 2007, p.23, 25).

In Australia, as is occurring in the US and Great Britain, dramatic curriculum change is occurring without the warring factions ever uniting. Governments have demonstrated an increasing interest in the establishment of national testing programs. In addition, governments have shown a distinct preparedness to examine the effectiveness of programs that compete for the scarce education dollar. This market perspective considers that student outcomes are determined more by education rather than by social factors.

The oft-expressed view that students’ achievements will not be advanced unless poverty and disadvantage are first eliminated is unlikely to fall on receptive ears in future.”

“There is less flag waving these days, and terms such as balanced literacy instruction are more likely to be employed (Moats...)

People also ask: Is whole language still taught?

Despite the science, whole language has remained popular — as of 2019, 68 percent of K-2 and special education teachers said they were still using the approach to teach reading. Often this is because many teachers were explicitly taught to teach practices that do not align with the Science of Reading.21.”

“Is whole language still taught? (2024)

“Despite the science, whole language has remained popular — as of 2019, 68 percent of K-2 and special education teachers said they were still using the approach to teach reading. Often this is because many teachers were explicitly taught to teach practices that do not align with the Science of Reading.21. Nov 2024”

Is the Whole Language Approach Lingering in Your Classrooms? Here’s What to Look For

Jeanne Sager / November 21, 2024 

https://ignite-reading.com/insights/whole-language-approach-to-reading/

Ignite Reading

What are the disadvantages of the whole language approach?

“Whole language does not teach children the rules of language so they will only learn the words taught to them. The kids do not have the tools to figure out words they do not know from whole language.”

Teaching young children how to read : phonics vs. whole language

Digital Commons @ CSUM

What was the main controversy between phonics and whole language?

“The controversy concerns whether early instruction should focus letter-to-sound correspondences so that children can learn to sound out words (systematic phonics) or focus on the meanings of written words embedded in stories (whole language). This debate started decades ago and shows no signs of ending.”

“What might not be so apparent to an outsider, however, is that there is near universal consensus in the research community that systematic phonics is the more effective approach.  At this point, the controversy is largely between the research community and teachers in the classrooms who often prefer whole language.

How to best teach reading is one of the most controversial topics in education. The controversy concerns whether early instruction should focus letter-to-sound correspondences so that children can learn to sound out words (systematic phonics) or focus on the meanings of written words embedded in stories (whole language). This debate started decades ago and shows no signs of ending. What might not be so apparent to an outsider, however, is that there is near universal consensus in the research community that systematic phonics is the more effective approach.

At this point, the controversy is largely between the research community and teachers in the classrooms who often prefer whole language.”

A history of disputes about reading instruction

National Institute for Direct Instruction

https://www.nifdi.org/news-latest-2/blog-hempenstall/396-a-history-of-disputes-about-reading-instruction

The Reading Wars - Professor Jeffrey Bowers - University of Bristol

https://jeffbowers.blogs.bristol.ac.uk

So, is phonics taught in Australian schools?

AI Overview

“Yes, phonics is taught in Australian schools, though some schools still use other methods. Phonics is a key part of literacy learning, and research shows it's the best way to teach children to read. 

How is phonics taught in Australia?

• Synthetic phonics

A systematic approach that teaches children to sound out words by looking at the letters and parts of words 

• Decodable readers

Books that use a limited number of letters and sounds that children have learned 

Where is phonics taught in Australia?

• In New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia, phonics is a core part of literacy teaching.
• In Western Australia, the Department of Education has introduced the Phonics Initiative to improve teaching and learning.
• In Victoria, all government schools will be required to teach phonics from prep to Year 2.

Why is phonics important? (2023)

Phonics helps children learn to decode words, which allows them to progress to more difficult words and sentences. It's an essential part of effective literacy learning, along with oral language, phonological awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

It's becoming more better known within our society

ABC News (2024)

What is phonics and why is it used to teach reading? - The Conversation

20 June 2024 — In Australian schools, synthetic phonics typically replaces “balanced literacy”. This can include phonics.

The Conversation (2023)

Australia's slow march towards getting reading right - AFR

26 Nov 2023 — Making sure all children and young adults can read must be a top priority for all governments. Amy Haywood and Anika St...

What is phonics and why is it used to teach reading? (2024)

Victoria has just announced all government schools will be required to use phonics to teach reading from next year. This brings it in line with approaches in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.

Some Victorian schools already teach phonics. But Education Minister Ben Carroll says all government schools will need to do 25 minutes per day of “explicit teaching” of phonics from the first year of school (called prep in Victoria) to Year 2. Schools will also need to use an approach called “systematic synthetic phonics”.

Rauno Parrila, Australian Catholic University; Anne Castles, Australian Catholic University, and Saskia Kohnen, Australian Catholic University

https://www.newsdaily.com.au/australian-news/47803-what-is-phonics-and-why-is-it-used-to-teach-reading

Reading Doctor - Evidence for Learning (2024)

https://evidenceforlearning.org.au/

“Although phonics is a central part of how literacy is taught in Australia (Donnelly & Wiltshire, 2014), many researchers have argued that there should be greater emphasis in Australian schools on teaching phonics and phonemic awareness (Westwood, 2009; Nayton, 2013; Donnelly & Wiltshire, 2014; Moats, 2014).

They maintain that, despite the overwhelming support for phonics, alternatives such as the whole-language method (learners deduce words and meanings based on context) continue to be used in Australian classrooms. The key criticisms of alternative literacy methods are that these methods have less empirical support (Moats, 2014; Nayton, 2013) and promote guessing by learners (Tran, 2011).

There appears to be confusion amongst educators as to how literacy should be taught. Interviews with early childhood workers highlighted that while they believed phonics to be important, they varied significantly in how they taught phonics and literacy (Campbell, 2015).

Mahar and Richdale (2008) had similar findings with pre-service teachers, who felt unprepared to teach phonics despite high levels of theoretical knowledge. However, observations of reading recovery teachers showed that they used phonics-based methods, even though these were not included in the reading recovery manual and the teachers did not often recognise these methods as being related to phonics (Serry, Rose, & Liamputtong, 2014).

Johnston (2012) examined phonics-based instruction in Scotland and non-phonics approaches in New Zealand and found that non-phonics approaches tend to lead to quicker word recognition and faster reading of simple texts.

However, these approaches were also associated with more instances of reading failure and poorer reading comprehension, which supports the use of a phonics-based approach to literacy”

Phonics: A summary of the research evidence on phonics in the Australasian context.

https://evidenceforlearning.org.au/

Education evidence | E4L

Education evidence

Educational research to guide educators, educational leaders and policymakers.

Evidence for Learning

Phonics Initiative - Department of Education WA

“The Phonics Initiative is one of the strategies being introduced in Western Australian public schools that will strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in classrooms and further support student learning. Phonics is necessary for children to become successful readers, spellers, and writers. This is especially important for children as they progress through school and beyond. Sound literacy skills are essential for further education and the workforce.

To ensure that schools can continue to focus on this important work, the state government has committed extra funding over a 5-year period to the Department of Education”

Phonics Initiative - Department of Education WA

https://www.education.wa.edu.au › phonics-initiative

Phonics teaching in schools - Parents Victoria (2024)

“In June 2024 Minister for Education, Ben Carroll announced that all students from Prep to Year 2 will be taught using a systematic synthetic phonics approach as part of their reading programs, with a minimum of 25 minutes daily explicit teaching of phonics. … The debate over phonics teaching (explicit instruction on how to ‘sound out’ words by learning the sounds that letters or combinations of letters stand for) has raged for decades.”

“The long-running debate about the best way to teach children to read was re-ignited in February 2024 by a report from the Grattan Institute. Under the heading ‘Victoria needs a reading revolution’, the report says a third of our children can’t read proficiently. Grattan Institute Education Program Director, Dr Jordana Hunter said, “Australia is failing these children. And it’s a preventable tragedy – the reason most of those students can’t read well enough is that we aren’t teaching them well enough.”

• ‘The way children are taught in Victoria is about to change’ (Age, 13 June)
• ‘Teachers told to ignore Victoria’s phonics push as union lashes deputy premier’ (Age, 14 June)
• ‘Eleven questions about phonics teaching method change answered’ (Herald-Sun, 13 June)
• ‘What mandated phonics means for Victoria’s haemorrhaging teacher numbers’ (Age, 18 June)

Phonics teaching in schools - Parents Victoria 

What are the disadvantages of the whole language approach?

Whole language does not teach children the rules of language so they will only learn the words taught to them. The kids do not have the tools to figure out words they do not know from whole language.

Teaching young children how to read : phonics vs. whole language

Digital Commons @ CSUM 

Why is phonics better than whole language?

“Phonics is considered a "bottom up" approach where students "decode" the meaning of a text. The advantage of phonics, especially for students who come to schools with large vocabularies, is thatonce students get the basics down, they can go to the library and read a wide variety of children's literature.

Phonics is considered a "bottom up" approach where students "decode" the meaning of a text. The advantage of phonics, especially for students who come to schools with large vocabularies, is that once students get the basics down, they can go to the library and read a wide variety of children's literature.”

Reyhner, J. (2024). Reading Wars: “Phonics vs Whole Language”. Northern Arizona University, Revised January 3, 2020. https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/jar/Reading_Wars.html 

An interesting relationship between child reading ability and adult cognitive tests (2024)

“They took cognitive tests when they were eight years old and again when they were 69 years old. A cognitive reserve index combined people’s education level at age 26, participation in enriching leisure activities at age 43 and occupation up to age 53. Their reading ability at age 53 was also tested as a measure of overall lifelong learning separate from education and occupation. The cognitive test participants took at age 69 has a maximum total score of 100. The average score for this group was 92, with the lowest score being 53 and the highest score being 100.

The researchers found that higher childhood cognitive skills, a higher cognitive reserve index and higher reading ability were all associated with higher scores on the cognitive test at age 69. Researchers found that for every unit increase in childhood test scores, the old-age cognitive test score increased by 0.10 points on average. For every unit increase in the cognitive reserve index, cognitive scores increased by 0.07 points on average, and for every unit increase in reading ability, cognitive scores increased by 0.22 points on average. People with a bachelor’s degree or other higher education qualifications scored 1.22 points more on average than those with no formal education. People who engaged in six or more leisure activities such as adult education classes, clubs, volunteer work, social activities and gardening scored 1.53 points more on average than people who engaged in up to four leisure activities. Those with a professional or intermediate level job scored 1.5 points more on average than those with partly skilled or unskilled occupations. The study also found that for people with a higher cognitive reserve index and reading ability, their scores on cognitive tests did not decline as rapidly as people with lower scores, regardless of their test scores at age eight.”

Prince, J. B., Davis, H. L., Tan, J., Muller-Townsend, K., Markovic, S., Lewis, D. M. G., . . . Sohrabi, H. R. (2024). Cognitive and neuroscientific perspectives of healthy ageing. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 161, article 105649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105649

This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/3949

Some concluding “stages” issues:

“What then might be the value of considering stages? Teachers indicate a strong desire to assist students whose progress is a problem, but they report feel under-prepared. They are in need of workable approaches that can make a difference for students with diverse instructional needs (Schumm & Vaughn, 1995). The framework provided by the stage model assists teachers to make decisions about the type and level of assistance required by each of their students, an expectation especially relevant given the increasing penetration of Response to Intervention in education, and the demands it places on teachers and schools.

Because of the large number of students who struggle to master reading, efficiency in the provision of initial teaching and subsequent support is very important for education systems (Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001). There are several components of effective whole-system or whole-school approaches. Adequate time must be assigned to the task of providing initial reading instruction. Yet, it is increasingly recognized that not all students require the same level of direct teacher input. A reduction in the number of students requiring significant 1:1 teacher time allows additional time to be provided for the seriously struggling students. This circumstance can eventuate when initial instruction reflects effective, research-supported approaches, thereby producing fewer casualties and enabling the school costs of providing intensive support to be maintained at realistic levels.

Apart from the time variable, the other components of effective whole-system or whole-school approaches involve instructional content and delivery. Providing the appropriate content at different grade levels can be assisted through a consideration of stages and through employing empirically tested strategies for enhancing student development through those stages.

Basing decisions on reading stages avoids the cul-de-sacs that eventuate for many students when the flawed three-cueing system and miscue analysis together form the basis for assessment and instruction (Hempenstall, 1998). These frameworks, though popular, are based upon unsupported assertions about reading development and contribute to the literacy problems experienced by many students.

We now know that the whole-language approach is inefficient; all children regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds benefit from explicit and early teaching of the correspondences between letters and speech sounds. This is a well-established fact, corroborated by a great many classroom experiments. Furthermore, it is coherent with our present understanding of how the reader’s brain works (Dehaene, 2009, p. 326).

A focus upon stages can also have social justice implications in that it enhances the likelihood that each of the students in our charge will receive the assistance appropriate to that student’s needs. The analysis also reduces the likelihood of overlooking students in difficulty or of wasting students’ time on those tasks at which they are already adept.”

Pages and pages on stages (reading stages, that is).

https://www.nifdi.org/resources/hempenstall-blog/392-pages-and-pages-on-stages-reading-stages-that-is.html

HAPPY PAGES & STAGES!