I argue that the National Reading Panel was too narrow in its presentation of scientifically-valid reading instructional research. Although the findings summarized by the Panel were valid, they were but a sampling of the many instructional practices that enjoy scientific support, most emphatically, in experiments and quasi-experiments (i.e., in the types of studies favored by the Panel). A sampler of practices that enjoy support but were ignored by the Panel is presented, as is discussion of qualitative research that was out of bounds because of the methodological strictures of the Panel. I conclude that most of the cutting edge of the scientific study of reading is entirely missing from the Panel's report, which emphasized findings massively supported by data, findings that are generally accepted by the scientific community concerned with reading instruction.
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