What do Steven Spielberg, the famous American film director; Richard Branson, the infamous British billionaire; Charles Schwab, the founder of the brokerage firm which holds his name; and Albert Einstein, the father of the theory of relativity, all have in common? They are all dyslexic. But these remarkable individuals who have achieved so much are the exception, not the rule. Their extreme success is not the case for the overwhelming majority of people with dyslexia.
For almost 200 years, the U.S. public education system has failed to provide the adequate education needed for dyslexic students to succeed. For most dyslexic students, the lack of proper support in public schools severely limits their potential. Public schools must properly diagnose those with dyslexia, teach reading using the phonics method and provide dyslexic students with specialized reading instruction and needed accommodations to give all people with dyslexia a fair chance of succeeding in school and beyond.
The American Brain Foundation defines dyslexia as “a brain-based learning disorder that causes difficulties with reading and processing written language.” Dyslexia, affecting 20% of the population, is a common neurocognitive disorder unrelated to intelligence, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. Yet, dropout rates for people with dyslexia in high school are estimated to reach 34%, compared to 5% of the general dropout rate. Additionally, it is estimated that 70% of juvenile delinquents have dyslexia.
Spielberg, Branson, Schwab and Einstein weren’t the only people with dyslexia to become successful: Out of a survey of nearly 70,000 self-made millionaires, 40% showed signs of dyslexia, according to CEO Magazine. But how do we change the education system, which holds back the next generation of leaders in engineering, business, film, physics, government and art?
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, public schools must diagnose and support students with disabilities, yet many fail to provide accurate dyslexia diagnoses, according to Mary Wennersten of the International Dyslexia Association. She said in a 2023 Education Week article that most public school systems lack staff qualified in diagnosing dyslexia and that an educational psychologist would need to provide the dyslexia diagnosis after an extensive evaluation process. However, school psychologists are in short supply in the U.S.
IDEA also gives parents the right to pursue legal action against local public school systems if their child’s educational needs are not being met. Lehigh University Prof. Perry Zirkel conducted a study on 64 families who sued the local school system for inadequate education. These families sought Orton-Gillingham instruction paid for by their local public school system; OG is suited and structured to teach dyslexic learners to read. Only 23% of those families won their court cases against the local public school system, and the rest of the kids continued to receive inadequate education.
Left untreated, dyslexia leads “to low self-esteem, behavior problems, anxiety, aggression, and withdrawal from friends, parents and teachers,” according to the Mayo Clinic. The clinic also emphasizes adverse long-term effects in education, social success and economic well-being. Because dyslexic students cannot succeed academically in their youth, they are more susceptible to dropping out of school, living in poverty or being incarcerated.
For years, there has been a war over how to teach children to read most effectively. An overwhelming number of schools have resisted changing from the old way of teaching reading called the “whole language” approach, which emphasizes the recognition of whole words. This method of teaching children how to read has proven less effective than the phonics method for both dyslexic and nondyslexic children. The phonics method of teaching children how to read consists of breaking words down into sounds. This approach is especially beneficial for dyslexic students, as it builds foundational phonemic awareness, a core area of difficulty for them. By teaching reading as a system of sounds rather than a string to be memorized, phonics offers a structured, reliable method that helps dyslexic students overcome one of their main hurdles in reading comprehension.
Here in Evanston, public schools have taken action to address the issues at hand. Inside the classroom, the curriculum is based on systematic phonics instruction and screening for dyslexia conducted by qualified individuals. The Illinois State Board of Education employs five dyslexia specialists who focus on technical assistance and training.
The time to act is now. Northwestern must advocate for schools across the country to adopt proven solutions, starting with phonics-based instruction, which has shown clear benefits for dyslexic learners. Properly diagnosing dyslexia, training educators and implementing specialized reading programs are not optional; they are necessary steps to prevent a generation of students from being left behind. Each day we delay, more dyslexic students face obstacles that could easily be mitigated with these solutions. Our education system must prioritize these changes to give all students a fair chance at success. By embracing these methods, we can unlock the potential of millions, ensuring that no student is held back.
Knox West is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
