# Louisa Moats Wins Reading Wars > 81-year-old Louisa Moats’ science-of-reading program now trains 700,000 teachers yearly, reshaping literacy education after decades of debate. - Title: Louisa Moats Wins Reading Wars · TIME | Shortify - Summary: 81-year-old Louisa Moats’ science-of-reading program now trains 700,000 teachers yearly, reshaping literacy education after decades of debate. Structured… - Keywords: louisa moats, letrs, science of reading, phonics, reading wars, nfl, reading instruction, teacher training, literacy, phoneme awareness, national assessment of educational progr, reading first - Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/09/23/louisa-moats-letrs-training-reading-interview - Author: Belinda Luscombe - Published: 2026-09-23T15:49:41.638+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: louisa moats, letrs, science of reading, phonics, reading wars, nfl, reading instruction, teacher training, literacy, phoneme awareness, national assessment of educational progr, reading first ## Teachers Seek Moats' Wisdom At 81, Louisa Moats meets teachers who praise her for reigniting their sense of purpose through literacy work. > They’re poorly paid, they don’t look very healthy, they certainly didn’t have an elite education and I feel this concern and admiration for them as they do this job. ## Moats' Reading Legacy Moats created a teacher-training program decades ago that now influences literacy education nationwide. ## Reading Wars History For decades, America’s reading wars debated whether phonics or whole-language methods best taught reading skills. ## Reading Crisis Deepens 40% of U.S. children lack basic reading skills by fourth grade, with literacy rates declining since 1992. ## Science of Reading Gains Momentum States are passing science-of-reading laws requiring structured phonics instruction for teachers. ## LETRS Program Details LETRS trains teachers in phonics, morphology, and orthography with 155 hours of intensive coursework. ## LETRS Adoption Surge 23 states purchased LETRS, with Alabama offering $1,000 bonuses for teachers completing the program. ## LETRS Impact LETRS enrollment jumped from 25,000 in 2020 to 700,000 in 2025, mostly in early grades. ## State Funding Boosts LETRS Michigan spent $75 million to train all reading teachers in LETRS, after seeing 38.2% of third-graders proficient in reading. ## Moats' Skepticism Moats remains cautious about LETRS’ widespread adoption, calling it 'humbling, bewildering, and surrealistic.' > It’s humbling, it’s a bit bewildering, it’s a bit surrealistic. ## Reading Wars Origins Moats began her literacy work after studying learning disabilities, leading to a focus on phonics and explicit instruction. ## Reading First Initiative The 2002 Reading First program mandated LETRS training but showed mixed results in student outcomes. ## Balanced Literacy Debate Balanced literacy methods, championed by Lucy Calkins, blended phonics and whole-language approaches but faced criticism for lack of structure. ## Mississippi's Success Mississippi improved fourth-grade reading scores by 10 points after implementing LETRS training in 2014. ## Teacher Resistance Some teachers resist LETRS, citing misalignment with existing curricula and lack of practical implementation. > You spent all this money and time on this training and it’s not showing up in our reading curriculum? ## Long-Term Challenges LETRS’ long-term impact remains uncertain, with studies showing mixed results and no definitive evidence of widespread improvement. ## Key takeaway Structured phonics training improves reading outcomes but faces challenges in implementation and long-term impact.