Case Studies
Student 1
Student 1 is a student at a comprehensive school serving a deprived community in South Yorkshire. They gained 7 years in their reading accuracy in 59 x 30-minute lessons.
Student 2
Student 2, from a comprehensive academy in Lancashire, was also able to improve their reading level by 7 years, and also took 59 30-minute lessons to do so.
Student 3
Student 3, also from Lancashire, started Thinking Reading lessons in April 2024 with a reading age of less than 8, and progressed to reading at a 14.5 year level in January 2025.
Student 4
Student 4, from Essex, gained 5.5 years in their reading in 38 x 30-minute lessons.
Student 5
Student 5 is from a poorer area of Birmingham. They gained 9.5 years in their reading in their lessons.
Student 6
Student 6 attends a comprehensive Catholic school in Kent. They began the reading programme with a reading age of 7 and completed it reading at a 13.5 year level, a gain of 6 years.
*Students graduate when their reading results match their chronological age, and are also confirmed via a standardised reading test such as the New Group Reading Test (NGRT).
Evaluations
Because data is collected during every Thinking Reading lesson, it's easy to calculate the average reading gains per lesson, and the ratio gain (RG) of progression for every month in the programme. Here, we present evidence for the impact of Thinking Reading.
Recent Evaluation
In early 2026 we evaluated 30 yearly cohorts of Thinking Reading graduates from 26 schools, who completed the programme between 2021 and 2025. We included only schools who provided a complete dataset including the results of standardised tests on exit.
Independent Evaluation
Professor Greg Brooks evaluated data from schools in north and west London, and included the analysis in his 2016 edition of What works for children and young people with literacy difficulties?, a comprehensive summary of the available interventions for literacy in the UK and the evidence for their impact.
West London School
5.6ratio gain
Students averaged 82 months' progress in 14 months, five times faster than normal conditions.
North London School
5.4ratio gain
Students averaged 59 months' progress in 11 months, again, five times faster than normal conditions.
Further Evaluations
Four partner schools shared data on student progress. The average gain was just over five years per student, at a rate of two months per half‑hour lesson. Students were in the programme for an average of seven months.
In a West London comprehensive school, the average progress for students over three years was 2.2 months per half‑hour lesson. The average total gain was 7.1 years.
Data shared by ten schools showed students making average gains of 4.6 years in just over six months, at an average rate of progress of 1.8 months per lesson.
The Research Behind Thinking Reading
Thinking Reading is grounded in principles developed through research, built on theoretical work and field‑tested in the real world. Our lesson content and teaching is based on four key approaches:
Engelmann's Direct Instruction
A consistent system of analysing, designing and communicating information for maximum impact, efficiency and retention. These principles are built into the design of the lesson plan, how items are selected for teaching and how they're presented to students.
Precision Teaching
A method of assessment which tells teachers the rate of student learning. It's based on the principle that fluency is one of the best measures of reading competence. We use this to assess student progress each day.
Systematic Speech-to-Print Phonics
This analyses the English sound-spelling code. We use phonics to teach students everything from the most basic and common to the more infrequent and complex, which ultimately improves reading skills and comprehension.
Behavioural Science
This involves principles for understanding and changing behaviours. We use these principles to track each element of students' performance, represent their progress visually, and motivate them.
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