In 2010, I was a special education teacher at North High School in Denver. They could not read the words “question” or “equation,” but had to somehow keep up with high school algebra. Nearly 7 out of 10 high school seniors graduate without being considered proficient readers. Mississippi’s rise from 49th in the nation to the top 10 in fourth grade reading started when the state adopted the science of reading. But the state also backed that shift with literacy coaches, early screening and targeted interventions to help struggling students before they fell too far behind.