This is a good description of requirements for literacy:
Solutions
All these solutions are well-known, well-established methodologies. It has all been done elsewhere, with measurable results. This is not laboratory theory. It is basic best practice.
Where schools and states do these things, children read better. More children achieve at the highest levels and fewer children fail. Fewer children need intervention, and interventions are more efficient and effective. We save time, money, and futures. Everyone benefits.
Scientifically-based early core reading curriculum
Excellent early core reading programs match the way brains learn to read. They cover the five essential components of reading - phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension strategies - in appropriate balance and intensity.
Instruction is explicit and systematic, and includes planned, deliberate practice in isolation and in both controlled and authentic texts. Reading acquisition is not left to chance, but ensured by design.
Children are taught to distinguish and manipulate the sounds in spoken language (phonemic awareness), and to link to smallest units of sound with their letter representations (phonics). These two components are emphasized in the early grades. Spelling and reading are taught together and are mutually reinforcing. Fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension strategies are all woven into the curriculum, and the complex, reciprocal relationship of the five components is recognized. Aided by quality assessments, teachers know what children are supposed to learn, whether they have learned it, and what to do right away if they did not learn it.