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A Parent Speaks Up for Read Right

March 26, 2025

Last spring (2024), parent “P.H.” met with a teacher and heard the words no parent wants to hear. It went something like this: Your child hasn’t caught on to reading yet. I recommend he repeat 1st Grade.

But P.H. had something that his child’s school didn’t have: confidence that his child could succeed, if he had the right help with reading.

That’s when he found Read Right methodology. The family eagerly signed him up.

Nine months later, their son was totally transformed. The data documents it:

From P.H.: “I would like to thank you for developing the Read Right program. We have seen substantial growth in (our son) in the almost year of being in the Read Right program. Please find attached ‘Star’ diagnostic reading scores for him dating from January of 2024 (during his 1st grade year) to Jan of 2025 (during his 2nd grade year). Keep in mind that his Title I teacher recommended retention and repeat of more of the same reading techniques. We believed that another year of the same old same old would not be in his best interest, and thus began our search for a better approach. That better approach was Read Right.

“Our goal when we began this tutoring journey was to see (our son) achieve reading at grade level. Based on his scores he has accomplished and surpassed that goal. We can’t thank you enough for your Read Right program and all that it has done for our son.”

In a follow-up note, P.H. acknowledged what Read Right Developer Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., has known since she developed Read Right 40 years ago. In his words: “The human brain is a wonderful thing and the learning ability is supercharged in a child. You’re right the environment is key. Learning to work with, instead of against (the supercharged brain) is such a crucial paradigm shift that is desperately needed in our education systems.”

Thank you, P.H. We love hearing from our clients.

Young and Old: Why Read Right Works

October 24, 2024

From Read Right Online Tutoring Student Cliff M., age 30-ish:

“In the past, reading has always been my Achilles’ heel. Long paragraphs gave me anxiety, and my goal to read fluently seemed so far away. However, everything changed when I signed up with my Read Right tutor. Working with her has improved my reading, writing, and how to read for understanding. Reading word-by-word is a thing of the past for me. I genuinely recommend her 5-star reading program. Since beginning my work with her, I’ve been promoted twice in my career, and reading is a way of life for me now.”

With Read Right, the same online tutoring methods that work for brand new readers work for adult readers, too–adults who have struggled with reading their entire lives. And, in the 21st Century, many careers rely upon reading ability for professionals to advance in their careers. If you can’t keep up with the latest knowledge in your field, you’re likely to get stuck in the no-advancement zone!

The answer to “how” and “why” Read Right works with all ages, early reading through collegiate-level: The methods accurately reflect what the brain requires for the development of authentic reading excellence. Specifically, the methods focus at all times on the right outcome for reading development: literal comprehension in the moment, as reading progresses, and reading that sounds as natural as conversational speech when performed out loud.

Read Right methodology is unique. It is not grounded in the popular “science of reading” because that science left out a whole lot of vital brain science that must be considered when seeking to develop excellent performance. Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., developer of Read Right methodology, identified the correct brain science 40 years ago, and has applied the latest and best brain science to her methods ever since.

Read Right methodology defines excellent reading as literal comprehension formed in the mind of the reader. In this view, “fluency” is not a separate skill that can be explicitly taught. Rather, Read Right methodology uses oral reading ability as a “window into the brain” and how it is performing the reading act. When a reader has a reading problem, clear and measurable symptoms emerge every time the reader reads out loud. The #1 strategy all Read Right tutors are trained to use to help students improve reading ability is to re-focus the brains attention on constructing meaning from text (the foundation of literal comprehension) as their eyes scan the text. Thus, comprehension comes first with Read Right–not last, as it does with the science of reading.

Cliff M. won’t mind me telling you that he’s now a dad who is already enjoying books with his toddler. He’s doing it the Read Right way! More than his dedication to being a very successful professional, Cliff is fully dedicated to being a super dad who ensures his daughter never struggles with reading as he did.

For more information on how to lay the right foundation for reading development in children ages birth to five, see Dee’s book in the Read Right Store.

A Very Busy Boy Becomes an Excellent Reader

January 23, 2024

At ages 5 and 6, Tyler was one of those very “busy boys” who would rather be outside playing (or inside playing video games) than doing anything associated with books. He had zero interest in learning to read.

Tyler had a small cloud hanging over his head: His brother–three and a half years older–had figured out how to read on his own before starting kindergarten. It is a “precocious” ability that 1% of all 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds turn up with every year. Notably, Read Right founder Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., wrote one of the first books designed to explain precisely how it is possible for young children to figure out how to read on their own. The book breaks it down to the smallest possible components. Are you thinking “phonics”? No–much more! It is the neurons where all knowledge is stored, and the procedural learning required for the brain to construct a complex, highly efficient neural network specifically designed to guide reading excellence. You’ll find detailed information in Chapter 3 of Dee’s book, available in the Read Right Store.

Tutors build a strong bond with students when they are tutoring one-on-one. Tyler eventually shared he thought he must be “dumb” because it was easy for his brother to figure out how to read–and he hadn’t. His coping mechanism for what he perceived as failure became constant motion–and an open dislike for books.

In March, Tyler started Read Right Online Tutoring an average 3 days a week, 30 minutes per day. It took only one month for him to master the 15 stable consonants Read Right requires before students start working with books. Four months later, Tyler was starting to read 1st Grade books on his own. He accomplished this without ever being asked to sound out (or decode) a single word! Six months after, Tyler finished his work with me reading with full comprehension and oral fluency at a mid-2nd Grade reading level!

Remarkably, Tyler’s behavior changed significantly over the months. Rather than the boy who would protest or cry before every tutoring session, by Month 3 Tyler stopped complaining. By Month 4, he figured out that he was actually learning to read–and became cooperative in every way.

It wasn’t long after Tyler discovered that reading can be easy and fun, that he looked at me with a beaming smile: “I can do this. I’m smart–just like my brother!” Those are life-changing words!

That’s the difference Read Right methodology makes. No one can know how many kids develop negative self-perceptions and coping skills when they assume they cannot be as successful as their siblings or peers. It can cause one to wonder how many bright kids are diagnosed every year with ADD/ADHD simply because they struggle to read. And, the best possible end to this story: Once an authentically excellent reader, always an excellent reader!

FACT: Children who figure out how to read on their own before starting school are known to NEVER develop reading problems. Why? The neural network built by the brain to guide the reading act was built correctly for one purpose: Simultaneously producing literal comprehension and oral fluency.

Read Right methodology uses the brain’s ability to figure out complex things to truly “empower the mind” for authentic reading excellence. Just ask Tyler’s mom: In the 7th month of his 2nd Grade year, Tyler is reading 3rd and 4th Grade chapter books. He has needed no other help in reading. Today, he now loves to SIT and READ! It’s fun and, for him–as it should be for every child, reading is now easy!

Learning to Read’s “Dark” Secret

January 2, 2022

by Rhonda Stone
Master of Public Administration–Education Policy/Reading
Read Right Systems

The switch turns on and off, like a light in a windowless room. When it’s on, everything is seen. When it’s off, all is unseen–and whoever is in the room must feel their way through the darkness.

Learning to read is much like this. It has two distinct functions. For one function (explicit learning), the light is on and we “see” letters and words on the page. Thus, it can be easily assumed that learning the “code” (or, more specifically, how to decode every individual word using the letters on the page identified in order, from left to right) is the only path to reading success. For the other (implicit operation), the light is off and we cannot possibly see deep within the human brain and what is happening when an individual reads successfully–and unsuccessfully.

No expert who knows human brain function (neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists) would disagree that the human brain uses distinctly different neural systems to process “explicit” information (that which we can see, hear, and declare) and “implicit” operations (what our brains do to keep us both alive and constantly learning). Why, then, have reading experts completely ignored the role of implicit operation as the single most important factor in reading failure and success? The sounds that letters on the page make are easy to learn. Nudging implicit brain systems to do the right things with those sounds is what reading experts have wrong.

It is learning to read’s dark secret–and understanding how brains actually function sheds light on what the reading field is ignoring.

Becoming a successful reader is NOT about learning to decode and otherwise identify individual words. It is impossible. Neuroscience has documented that the human brain cannot process more than 3 to 7 bits of information at a time before it reaches capacity and starts all over again by wiping short-term/working memory clean! Reading is NOT about identifying every single word on a page and adding up the words to figure out the meaning. Again, adding up individual words violates the limits of brain capacity.

Becoming a successful reader IS about efficiency in complex cognitive processing. Who would argue with that? Such efficiency can only occur when the human brain figures out how to integrate multiple forms of knowledge into the singular act of making sense of text. Rather than focus on individual words, the brain MUST focus on using minimal alphabetic information to recreate the message that an author intended to communicate. Like an orchestra, these things must work together in harmony: minimal information from letters and spaces on the page; immediate recognition of punctuation and its essential contribution to meaning; instantaneous connection with a variety of knowledge already stored in the mind of the reader; and more.

Figuring out how these things work together, honestly, is IMPOSSIBLE. Figuring out how to nudge a new or struggling reader to do the right things to make complex processing happen is POSSIBLE. Read Right developer Dr. Dee Tadlock has done it and has a 40-year track record of success guiding individuals with mild to severe reading problems out of the darkness that comes with reading failure.

For our Online Tutoring Service, Read Right offers an eight-session guarantee. No one else does that. If, after eight tutoring sessions, a student does not demonstrate a reduction in symptoms as compared to the initial assessment, the client can request a refund of the eight sessions. Read Right can offer this because it works.

Re-Thinking Special Education: What Is Possible? Pt. 2

May 20, 2021

By Rhonda Stone of Read Right Systems
Part 2 of 2

If it doesn’t work, why keep doing it? That is one interpretation of what Albert Einstein meant when he said:  “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Special education programs across America continue to be locked into the 150-year-old view that students who struggle with reading do so because they do not have sufficient word attack and decoding skills. How is it possible, then, that many SpEd students can read this second sentence (the first one is on our Home page) with only the clue that the  sentence is about TREES:

I    h_v_    b_g    tr_ _ s     _n     m_     b _ _k y_ _ d.

It obviously isn’t possible to decode the words in this sentence. To read it, the brain relies on far more complex and sophisticated neural activity to anticipate the meaning. Anticipation is what drives all human function, including reading! Consider this from Kajaani University of Applied Sciences in Finland, a nation that routinely outperforms the United States in reading: “Reading, we conclude, is not a matter of decoding linguistic information. Far from being a text-driven process, it depends on integrating both sensory and motor processes in an anticipatory meaning generation based on the history of experience and cultural context of the reader,” by  Timo Järvilehto  Veli-Matti Nurkkala and Kyösti Koskela, in “The Role of Anticipation in Reading,” published in the peer-reviewed journal Pragmatics & Cognition, Volume 17, Issue 3, Jan 2009, p. 509 – 526. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.17.3.02jar

Few would disagree that competent reading ability is the foundation for achieving success in elementary, secondary, and collegiate education. So, why not re-think Special Education, and do everything you can to ensure that instruction is fully aligned with current brain science? That is what Read Right methodology has done—and it is producing results Special Education administrators and teachers never thought possible. Results like these:  507 students—a mixture of elementary, middle school, and high school students—in an average of only 40.2 hours of participation in Read Right gained an average of 2.1 grade levels in reading as measured by the comprehension sub-section of the Gates Mac-Ginitie Test of Reading. The Normal Curve Equivalency gain score was 10.6. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not! Read Right unleashes the power of the brain to do what brains do.

For your next reading intervention purchase, add something with a proven track-record that does NOT repeat what you’ve already tried with lackluster results. Your students can experience one to two full years’ gain in reading ability in one school year or less. Train your SpEd teachers and teaching assistants in Read Right methodology. Help your students become impressively successful readers.

Re-Thinking Special Education: What is Possible? Pt. 1

May 13, 2021

by Dee Tadlock, Ph.D.
Reading Instruction, Reading Remediation, and Online Reading Tutoring
Part 1 of 2

Students who qualify for special education services in reading typically fall further behind their peers each year. As the daughter of a friend said to her mother when assessed for special education services: “Mom, once you go into special ed, you never get out.”

Does it have to be that way? Is it possible for students with special education labels to catch up to their general-education peers and exit SpEd services forever? Let’s ask Dr. Pat Harper, Director of a multi-district special-education cooperative in Texas: After considerable research, the Co-op purchased Read Right as their reading intervention program for both general-education students and special-education students. “We have seen phenomenal results!” says Harper.

THERE WAS A 48% DECREASE in the referral rate the first year after implementing Read Right, and the number of referrals have since declined by almost 70%. Additionally, there has been almost a 50% reduction in the special education population. “For many students, solving their reading problems with Read Right tutoring has been a ticket out of special education.”

Read Right graduates have also done very well on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills—80% have passed it, and none of them had ever passed it before. Harper stated, “Read Right has proved to be the tool that has enabled school staff to serve our students in a way that no one thought was possible. The dramatic results speak for themselves. Read Right works!”

Why does participation in Read Right transform severely struggling students to successful, confident readers? The simple answer is: Read Right marches to a totally different drummer; it does not put students in instructional environments created by virtually all other reading intervention programs. It adheres to the wisdom of these two quotes:

 “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” Albert Einstein

AND…

“If we are to achieve results never before accomplished, we must expect to employ methods never before attempted.”  Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

The Read Right Reading Intervention Program for schools is neither a packaged program nor an independent online learning tool. Instead, it is intensive training for your staff to be the BEST small group instructors they can be. The Read Right methods your staff will learn over one full semester of hands-on training are not a re-application of the instructional methods students have already received. Those methods did not work—so, why use them again?

Instead, Read Right methodology does something extraordinary: it integrates the latest and best neuroscience related to brain function with typical and not-so-typical ideas about what is required to achieve reading proficiency. With our methods, your students will experience successful, confident reading ability for the first time in their lives, beginning with the first day they engage with Read Right Small Group Instruction. Our patented methods build proficiency into the system from Day One (and, to be clear—training of your staff occurs with your students present!)

Over the next few weeks, we’ll explain why Read Right works so well and how you can access it for your students. Remember: When reading problems are resolved, many students no longer need SpEd services.

GO FOR IT! You’ve already spent thousands and it hasn’t delivered. Read Right methodology employs methods never before attempted, and it achieves results never before accomplished. It’s the best way to “re-think” Special Education!

Our students are assigned because of discipline management problems... Out of 33,000 kids, 1,000 come here each year. Read Right has a curriculum that can be followed by any student we have. It can be modified for any kid. I've seen young men and young ladies who are one or two years behind in reading come up one or two years in the 30 days that they are here. The smiles on these kids’ faces are worth more than anything.

— Dr. Vic Rucker, Principal, Secondary Reassignment Center (middle and high school) —