U.S. and Chilean Reading Education Policies: The Right to be Literate in Times of Accountability

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Pelusa Orellana
Kellogg Visiting Fellow
Chilean Fulbright Chair

In the current study, I examine U.S. reading public policy initiatives and their impact on students’ reading outcomes to determine if any of them could be implemented in Chile. I begin by explaining some important conceptual and theoretical views about reading and reading instruction. Next, I describe the sociopolitical context in which reading policy emerged and developed in each country. Third, I describe U.S. reading policy initiatives that have been implemented and evaluated. Finally, I discuss the extent to which some of the core ideas in U.S. policy initiatives could be implemented in Chile. I frame this discussion not only using outcome data (e.g., reading score improvement, teacher professional development quality, improvement in students’ reading habits) but also reflect on contextual, cultural, and practical features that facilitate or hinder policy implementation in Chile.