Despite many millions of dollars spent on reading instruction and intervention, two-thirds of U.S. students still lack proficiency and at least one-half of these students lack adequate basic word recognition skills. This is a national crisis with lifelong implications

NAEP research shows, of every three students, two are likely not proficient in reading and at least one of them lacks basic reading skills.

The Foundations Learning System (FLS) is a solution that applies recent advances in learning science to address this crisis. FLS is built to help all students develop essential foundational reading skills –
whether they are just beginning to develop the skills, or they are learners who have gaps in their reading profiles. We can quickly identify, diagnose and help developing and struggling readers get their academic careers on track.

Who are the students who can benefit from the Foundations Learning System?

• Developing readers in 2^nd and 3^rd grade who must develop automatic word recognition skills
• Older students who have gaps in their reading profiles and exhibit all or some of the following characteristics
  • Struggle with comprehension and fluency
  • Read slowly, with great effort and difficulty
  • Struggle with decoding
  • Are unable to easily identify and distinguish vowels
  • Do not understand how syllables work or have difficulty breaking words into syllables
  • Cannot quickly and automatically apply the rules of phonics to new words or to connected text
• English Language Learners

What is the Foundations Learning System?

The Foundations Learning System is an assessment/instruction solution designed to help students develop automatic word recognition, essential to reading fluency and comprehension. The Foundations System is designed for students in grades 2 and above and has been proven effective for developing readers, persistently struggling readers, English language learners, students who learn differently and special needs students.

EDUCATORS CHOOSE OUR SYSTEM TO PROVIDE THE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR FLUENCY AND PRINT COMPREHENSION. THE INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTION IDENTIFIES SPECIFIC PROBLEM AREAS AND PROVIDES SUCCESSFUL AND EFFICIENT PERSONALIZED INSTRUCTION.

Screening

Determine which students are likely to have deficits in automatic word recognition with our brief online screener.

Diagnosis

Identify each student’s specific profile of basic reading skills – including detailed decoding skills and the first and only operationalized and validated measurement of automatic word recognition.

Intervention

Provide integrated reading instruction and interim assessment, personalized for each student.  Monitor progress with the teacher dashboard. Students typically complete the curriculum in six to nine months.

Applying Learning Science to Reading Instruction

The Foundations Learning System applies recent advances in learning science – proven effective in other disciplines – to address this crisis. We can quickly identify and help struggling and developing readers develop the skills to get their academic careers on track. The application of the learning framework known as the “Varied Practice Model” to the area of reading is especially relevant to the millions of students who struggle despite current approaches that are well meaning yet ineffective. Just as this learning model enhances automatic skill development in many other domains (eg, sports, music, language, math, perception), it has now been applied to the development of automatic word recognition skills, an essential precursor of fluency and reading comprehension.

Our system is the best way to build foundational literacy skills. Our approach is:

Here’s what teachers are saying about the impact on student performance:

Foundations in Learning can help you reach many types of struggling readers

Students at Risk for Language & Literacy Development

English Language Learners

Special Needs Students

Developing Readers