Reading skills — and struggles — manifest earlier than thought
Science & Tech Reading skills — and struggles — manifest earlier than thought New finding underscores need to intervene before kids start school, say researchers Liz Mineo Harvard Staff Writer June 23, 2025 5 min read Experts have long known that reading skills develop before the first day of kindergarten, but new research from the Harvard Graduate School of Education says they may start developing as early as infancy. The study, out of the lab of Nadine Gaab, associate professor of education, found that trajectories between kids with and without reading disabilities start diverging around 18 months of age — not at age 5 or 6 as previously thought. The finding could have serious implications for policy, said Gaab, because it underscores the need for early identification of struggling readers, early intervention, and improved early literacy curricula in preschools. “Our findings suggest that some of these kids walk into their first day of kindergarten with their little backpacks and...