Decoding | Grades 3 and Up

Accelerate Foundational Reading Skills

Corrective Reading® Decoding is a proven, evidence-based intervention solution with more than five decades of time-tested results in closing the literacy achievement gap.

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Close Foundational Reading Gaps—Fast

Help students catch up quickly, achieve proficiency, and succeed academically with our unique mastery-based approach to reading intervention, rooted in authentic Direct Instruction. By addressing all critical reading components—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—through engaging, age-appropriate materials, Corrective Reading Decoding accelerates learning and helps students catch up with their peers.

Targeted Intervention for Every Reading Level

The Corrective Reading Decoding instruction model includes four key levels of intervention. With multiple points of entry, you can ensure that all students in Grades 3 and up receive targeted support based on their unique needs while achieving significant literacy growth.

Decoding A: Word-Attack Basics

Designed for non-readers or students who read haltingly, Decoding A teaches foundational sound-spelling relationships and builds essential reading strategies.

Teaches: Basic reading skills including phonemic awareness, sound symbol identification, sounding out regular and irregular words, word reading, sentence and story reading, rate building, and Workbook applications

Decoding A

Number of Lessons	65 Lessons
Who It's For	For non-readers or those in Grades 3 and up who read so haltingly they cannot understand what they are reading
Outcomes	60 wpm, 98% accuracy, reading at a 2.0–2.5 grade level

Decoding B1: Refining Decoding Strategies

Decoding B1 focuses on refining word-attack skills, promoting fluency, and improving comprehension through progressively challenging stories.

Teaches: Pronunciation, letter sounds and combinations, word endings, word reading, critical word discriminations, understanding literal and inferential comprehension questions, rate building, and Workbook applications

Decoding B1

Number of Lessons	65 Lessons
Who It's For	For striving readers, students in Grades 3 and up who do not read at an adequate rate and who confuse words
Outcomes	90 wpm, 98% accuracy, reading at a 3.5–3.9 grade level

Decoding B2: Refining Decoding Strategies

Decoding B2 focuses on refining word-attack skills, promoting fluency, and improving comprehension through progressively challenging stories.

Decoding B2

Number of Lessons	65 Lessons
Who It's For	For striving readers, students in Grades 3 and up who do not read at an adequate rate and who confuse words
Outcomes	130 wpm, 98% accuracy, reading at a 4.5–4.9 grade level

Decoding C: Skill Applications

Decoding C bridges the gap between advanced decoding skills and the ability to comprehend sophisticated texts across all content areas.

Teaches: Letter combinations, affixes, vocabulary development, accurate reading of story selections and informational passages, understanding literal and inferential comprehension questions, rate building, and Workbook applications

Decoding C

Number of Lessons	120 Lessons
Who It's For	For readers in Grades 5 and up who lack comprehension of sophisticated text, who do not learn well from what they read, or who have trouble thinking critically
Outcomes	150 wpm, 98% accuracy, reading at a 6.5–7.0 grade level

A Proven Formula with Powerful Upgrades for Today’s Classrooms

Over five decades, we’ve continued to optimize the program content and delivery based on extensive field-testing while maintaining evidence-based approaches to instruction, grounded in Science of Reading principles.

Modernized Content

Stories have been updated to feel more current and relevant for today’s students, supporting their engagement with the texts.

Accessibility and Equity

Accessible design with embedded images and supports ensures students with accommodations and multilingual learners can fully engage and succeed. Texts use current, clear, and inclusive language, enabling access for all.

Enhanced Materials

Updated texts, modernized language, added visuals, audio, and videos expand comprehension and vocabulary beyond decoding.

Connected Digital Experience

The new digital experience gives teachers and students seamless access to reporting, rostering, gradebook, and more. Online practice activities directly linked to daily lessons provide engaging, interactive opportunities for students to monitor progress as they master key skills.

The pacing is perfect, and there’s this fun competition among the students. They’re excited to beat each other’s reading times or see who has the fewest errors, and they’re even asking to test again. I’ve never seen anything like it.