Karl Rectanus, CEO of Really Great Reading, on evidence, execution, and why foundational reading is education’s most urgent priority.
INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero
At a time when national reading scores are declining and scrutiny around educational impact is intensifying, Karl Rectanus is stepping into the CEO role at Really Great Reading with a clear mandate: results.
Rectanus is no stranger to accountability. As co-founder and former CEO of LearnPlatform, he helped pioneer rapid-cycle evaluation and evidence-based decision-making in K–12 education, equipping districts with the tools to measure what works. Now, he brings that outcomes-first mindset to one of the most foundational challenges in education—early literacy.
With more than two decades of experience supporting structured literacy instruction, Really Great Reading has built a reputation for measurable impact grounded in the Science of Reading. For Rectanus, the opportunity is not about incremental improvement, but about scaling evidence-based execution to ensure every student develops the foundational skills that unlock lifelong learning.
In this conversation, Rectanus shares why literacy represents an inflection point for the field, what real evidence of impact looks like beyond compliance, and how disciplined implementation—paired with accountability—can change student trajectories at scale.
You’re stepping into the CEO role at a moment when national reading scores are declining, and scrutiny on impact is rising. What made this the right time—and RGR the right platform—for you to take this on?
That urgency is exactly why I said yes.
National reading scores aren’t just declining—they’re declining in ways that should alarm all of us. When foundational reading skills aren’t in place early, the consequences compound over time, shaping not only students’ academic trajectories but their long-term economic and life outcomes.
Reading is the gateway skill. If students can’t read fluently and comprehend complex text, they struggle everywhere—whether that’s in social studies, biology, or math. Teachers see this every day. The question often isn’t whether students can grasp the content; it’s whether they have the literacy skills required to access it in the first place.
‘Reading is the gateway skill. If students can’t read fluently and comprehend complex text, they struggle everywhere—whether that’s in social studies, biology, or math.’
Really Great Reading (RGR) has 20 years of experience helping students build foundational literacy skills and accelerating progress for those who are behind grade level. The organization has a robust evidence base, a disciplined instructional model, and a sustained track record of impact.
At a moment when scrutiny on outcomes is rising—and rightly so—I saw an opportunity to bring a relentless focus on implementation, measurement, and results to one of the most foundational challenges facing our education system. This isn’t about incremental improvement. It’s about changing the trajectory of literacy outcomes at scale, with a team and a toolkit that have proven they can deliver.
Many districts have embraced the Science of Reading, yet leaders are now asking, “Is it actually working?” How do you define real evidence of impact, and how should districts be thinking differently about results?
For many districts, especially starting around 2018 and into the pandemic, the Science of Reading was new. It became something leaders were discovering, or in some cases, something they felt pressure to say they were doing. Since then, more than 40 states have passed Science of Reading–related legislation, which is a meaningful and positive shift.
But RGR has been doing this work for more than two decades, long before it became a movement or a mandate. The organization understands what it takes to help students learn to read, and there’s a deep body of evidence behind that work—third-party studies aligned with ESSA, strong independent reviews, and results across multiple contexts.
Impact goes beyond checklists and compliance. When we talk with district and state partners, we don’t start with what’s written in an RFP or whether a program technically meets a mandate—we assume that baseline matters. What matters more is what’s actually happening in classrooms, year over year.
Real evidence looks like more students, in more schools, meeting or exceeding reading proficiency—and doing so consistently over time. It’s about whether outcomes are improving across all student groups, not just whether the right boxes were checked during adoption. The shift from proving alignment to proving results is how district leaders should be thinking differently about impact.
‘The shift from proving alignment to proving results is how district leaders should be thinking differently about impact.’
Your background at LearnPlatform centered on helping districts evaluate what works. How does that outcomes-first mindset shape your vision for Really Great Reading’s next chapter?
I’m incredibly proud of the work we did at LearnPlatform. When we started, the idea that districts could actually evaluate what was working—for all students, or for different students in different contexts—felt unrealistic to many people. We were often told, “That would be great if it were possible,” and for many districts, it simply didn’t feel attainable.
Ten years later, it absolutely is. Districts now expect visibility into what’s working, and the LearnPlatform team—now part of Instructure—has helped make evidence-based, rapid-cycle evaluation and informed decision-making part of how systems operate. At its core, that work was about empowering districts to recognize that they not only needed data on student outcomes, but had the capacity to use it to guide meaningful decisions.
I wasn’t actively looking to step into another operating role. I was happy advising companies, funds, and policymakers on how to drive systemic impact. But literacy is such a foundational challenge—and the stakes are so high—that an outcomes-first mindset isn’t optional. It’s essential.
Many people are working on this problem, and much of that work is well-intentioned, even highly effective in pockets. But if it were working universally, we’d be seeing different national results.
As I stepped into RGR, the central question became: how do we ensure every student succeeds? We believe outcome-based literacy focused on evidence, execution, and accountability is the only path forward.
RGR emphasizes accountability beyond adoption. What does successful implementation look like at scale, especially for districts serving historically marginalized students and older learners?
Successful implementation at scale comes down to three things: instruction grounded in the Science of Reading; a caring, skilled adult who can motivate students and hold them accountable; and a feedback loop so both educators and students know where they are and what to do next.
Really Great Reading brings all three together. And when we talk about accountability, we don’t view it negatively. We’re energized to be held accountable for student outcomes, and we want our partners to feel that shared responsibility because that’s how trust is built. We support that accountability with deep professional learning and coaching led by experienced educators and administrators who have successfully improved literacy outcomes and are working directly with districts today.
This approach matters for all students, but it’s especially critical for those who have been historically marginalized and for older learners who were never given the supports they deserved. A recent independent meta-analysis showed that RGR delivers statistically significant gains that are sustained over time for historically marginalized students. That’s the work I’m most proud of, and it’s what motivates us to keep expanding access to instruction that actually changes outcomes.
‘This approach matters for all students, but it’s especially critical for those who have been historically marginalized and for older learners who were never given the supports they deserved.’
Literacy conversations often focus on materials, but less on execution. Where do districts most commonly struggle in translating structured literacy research into classroom practice—and how can partners better support them?
Time is the most valuable and most constrained resource educators have. That’s where districts most often struggle in translating research into practice, as teachers balance a growing number of requirements and priorities.
What RGR has done, very intentionally, is design tools and resources—both print and digital—that fit within the instructional day. They’re practical, usable, and engaging for students and teachers alike. That sounds straightforward, but it’s not easy. It’s taken years of refinement, and it’s one of the reasons our solutions are so well-loved by the educators who use them.
Where districts often get stuck is feeling like they have to choose between foundational literacy and everything else. Our perspective is the opposite: investing time in foundational reading skills actually improves everything else.
When students can read effectively, they’re better able to learn science, history, math—every subject. There’s no more valuable use of time, especially for students who are behind grade level, than building those foundational skills.
That’s why we encourage districts to prioritize effective reading instruction in the early grades—K–2—and to continue targeted support through upper elementary, middle school, and beyond for students who need it.
Our team understands how to build the culture, supports, and clarity that help teachers focus on what truly matters. It can be hard to know what the real priorities are, but foundational literacy belongs at the very top of the list.
You’ve said this moment in literacy is an inflection point. If we’re sitting here three years from now, what would meaningful progress look like—for students, educators, and district leaders?
Three years from now, I genuinely believe we’ll be having a different conversation. For the organizations we partner with—and ideally for the country as a whole—meaningful progress means students learning to read with confidence and joy. For educators, it means clarity and conviction about how to teach reading effectively to students from all backgrounds. And for district and state leaders, it means confidence in how they’re driving outcomes—not just compliance.
‘Three years from now, I genuinely believe we’ll be having a different conversation. For the organizations we partner with—and ideally for the country as a whole—meaningful progress means students learning to read with confidence and joy.’
Success won’t only show up in improved NAEP scores, though those will matter. It will show up in stronger conversations with parents and communities, and in leaders being able to stand behind their decisions because they know what works. The focus will shift away from simply adopting programs or buying tools toward accountability for how children actually learn to joyfully read.
For education leaders feeling overwhelmed by urgency, pressure, and competing priorities, what’s your message about where to focus first if improving literacy outcomes is truly the goal?
My message is simple: start with how kids learn to read. Foundational literacy skills are teachable and knowable, and they can be taught joyfully within the time schools already have. Prioritizing those skills—early and for students who need additional support later on—removes friction everywhere else. Literacy sparks learning across all subjects and success throughout life. If we get that right, everything else becomes possible.
Where do you see RGR if we were to sit down again exactly a year from now—what would you be saying?
This isn’t a flash-in-the-pan conversation. The literacy challenge we’re facing is real, and it’s big. A year from now, I expect we’ll be talking about what we’ve learned alongside our partners and how those learnings are translating into better outcomes for students.
Really Great Reading has always operated that way. Scott DeSimone, our founder, was an innovator long before it was popular to be one, and that mindset is deeply embedded in the organization. As a team, we’re committed to continuing to expand the evidence base, refine what works, and apply those insights in ways that actually drive results.
If we sit down again a year from now, I expect I’ll be sharing concrete shifts we’re seeing in classrooms and schools—how instruction is changing, how students are progressing, and how partners are using that information to keep improving. Ideally, it won’t just be me talking. You’ll be hearing directly from district leaders, educators, and our team members who are proud of what they’ve accomplished together.
That’s the ultimate measure of success for me: sustained improvement, grounded in evidence, and driven by passionate people who care deeply about improving literacy for all kids.
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Victor Rivero is the Executive Producer of Future Focus Forums (F3) and Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com.
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