This section provides a sample of STF’s most recent reading proficiency research on reading efficiency, visual skills, and their relationship to reading proficiency, as well as important research performed by STF team members in previous years. Stanford Taylor Foundation’s science-backed educational tools have been informed by and developed through research.
White Paper – Reading Efficiency and Visual Skills: What Every District Needs to Know
Recent research on silent reading efficiency, the visual skills required for fluent reading, and the tools STF has developed to help districts assess and address these gaps. It is designed for district and school leaders committed to advancing literacy outcomes for all students.
Read the Full White PaperReading Research Briefs and Presentations
This section provides a sample of the Stanford Taylor Foundation’s most recent research on reading efficiency, visual skills, and their relationship to reading proficiency, as well as important research performed by STF team members in previous years. Stanford Taylor Foundation’s science-backed educational tools have been informed by and developed through research.
The Prevalence of Visual Skill Deficits Among Low-Performing Readers (2025)
Over 50% of elementary and 25% of middle school non-proficient readers showed evidence of underdeveloped visual skills while reading.
Read MoreThe Decline of Silent Reading Efficiency (2016)
The first update to national silent reading rate norms in more than 50 years found that today’s elementary, middle and high school students read silently at significantly lower rates than students in 1960.
Read MorePrevalence of Inefficient Reading Among Low-Performing and High-Performing Students in Grades 3 – 12 (2020)
A large national study of silent reading, representing all demographic groups in grades 3 to 12, found 70% of below-grade readers and 30% of at or above-grade readers read inefficiently.
Read MoreNon-Proficient Readers and the Critical Silent Reading Transition (2019)
Many non-proficient readers do not make the critical silent reading transition that enables them to acquire information more quickly and efficiently than through listening, affecting their capacity to meet grade level reading demands.
Read MoreInefficient Readers Demonstrate Significantly More Key Indicators of Difficulty Navigating Text (2017)
Students in higher reading rate quartiles were significantly more efficient than slower readers across key reading efficiency measures, including fixations (eye stops), fixation duration, and regressions (backwards eye stops).
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