Katie Megrian speaks with education policy expert Chad Aldeman, founder of Aldeman Education LLC and creator of ReadNotGuess.com, about early reading development, intervention, and broader K–12 trends.

Chad shares that his son’s kindergarten experience during COVID revealed that his son had not been taught to decode and was guessing words. That realization led him to create Read Not Guess, a free, sequential, parent-facing resource with Levels 1–3, a “daily-ish decodable” program, and an optional app to support sound practice at home.

They discuss declines in national achievement that began around 2013–2015, with the largest drops among lower-performing students. Chad explores possible contributors, including shifts in accountability policy, increased screen time, declining independent reading, and reduced emphasis on foundational ski ...