September is a time for fresh starts. As students across the country head back to school, they are meeting new teachers, settling into new routines and setting goals for the year ahead. At Dyslexia Canada, we are thinking about our goals too.
Our goal is for every child in Canada to have the opportunity to learn to read and write effectively.
We know that getting there is complex and will take time. To keep us on track and focused on measurable progress, we have identified four key areas of policy and practice that we are working to advance nationally. Our goal is for 100% of children in Canada to live in a province or territory where:
- curriculum and instructional guidance reflect the evidence about how children learn to read and write;
- every child is screened for reading difficulties regularly from Kindergarten to Grade 2;
- children have access to evidence-based intervention, and robust policies and cohesive systems are in place to ensure screening data are used to guide teaching; and
- teacher training standards ensure all new educators enter the profession with a strong foundation in reading science, effective instruction, and dyslexia.
When Dyslexia Canada was formed in 2016, no province or territory had policies or explicit ministerial direction in these areas. While some schools and districts had created effective local policies, access to effective reading instruction shouldn’t be left to chance. Over the past ten years, we have made significant progress nationally, but there is still a long way to go.
How close are we to our 100% goal?
Goal #1: Evidence-Aligned Curriculum & Instruction
Curriculum and instructional guidance aligned with evidence on how children learn to read and write, containing specific and measurable expectations for foundational skills
| Baseline (2016) | Progress (2026) | Students covered | Students still waiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 60.9% | 672,486 | 430,590 |
Goal #2: Universal Early Reading Screening
| Baseline (2016) | Progress (2026) | Students covered | Students still waiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 72.4% | 798,960 | 304,116 |
Goal #3: Effective Intervention Systems
| Baseline (2016) | Progress (2026) | Students covered | Students still waiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 17.2% | 190,440 | 912,636 |
Goal #4: Evidence-Aligned Teacher Preparation Standards
| Baseline (2016) | Progress (2026) | Students covered | Students still waiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 1.9% | 21,636 | 1,081,440 |
Student estimates are based on Statistics Canada-reported school enrolment data from the 2023-24 school year and include only students enrolled in Kindergarten to Grade 2. “Students covered” refers to students living in a jurisdiction where the identified goal has been formally established at the provincial or territorial level; it does not indicate that implementation at the school level has been consistently achieved.