The product's reputation was largely damaged. Its sales plummeted. Gateway was driven to seek relief in bankruptcy court. But we can determine who would benefit most from its demise. The groups' devotion to the whole-language method is exemplified by their unwillingness to take seriously the disastrous consequences of its mandated use.
Whole language is more popular in California than in any other state.
As a result, California students are the worst readers in the nation. Whole-language teaching in Massachusetts has hurt reading achievement so badly that last year 40 distinguished professors of linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, and neurology from several eminent universities petitioned the state's commissioner of education to stop promoting it. The widespread acceptance of the whole language approach by educators, despite the lack of supporting evidence, is ominous. The FTC attack on 'Hooked on Phonics' therefore was more than just a federal agency trying to destroy a small business. The action also represents a setback to effective reading instruction at a time when, according to the U.S. Department of Education, almost 50 percent of American adults are functionally illiterate.