From Frustration to Flow

Have you ever given a child a Rubik's cube as a gift? Could he or she solve it?

The Rubik’s cube is one of the best selling toys of all time with more than 5 billion cubes sold annually. There’s something that we love about placing this complex 3D puzzle into the hands of children and adults alike and watching their brains go to work on bringing order to the chaos of the multi-colored cubes.

While the fun gift delights for the first few minutes, the reality is that only about 6% of the population can solve a Rubik’s cube; everyone else is blindly spinning the little blocks hoping that the code will reveal itself. We delight in the illusion that anyone can pick up a tool and use it proficiently with relative ease and little training, but it’s simply not true.

The initial joy of the puzzle quickly leads to frustration when the turn one needs to create beautiful color order on one side of the block causes disruption on the adjacent side. The lack of a well known linear path forward causes Rubik’s cubes around the world to earn resting spots in the corner of toy boxes or junk drawers.

Humans love magic. We are fascinated by the ability to take a seemingly complex series of steps and to display them with relative ease. From the Rubik’s cube to learning to read and write, we hold out hope that if the beginner just stares at the cube or the book intently enough, their brain will figure out the cipher.

The truth is that mastery is the result of developing proficiency in a series of methodical steps. Perseverance through the steps is the magic we seek. Our ability to map the journey serves to sustain motivation and to identify the next right move.

There is a linear path to solve a Rubik’s cube and there is also one for learning to read.

• If we explicitly taught the 20 steps to solve a Rubik’s cube, we’d quickly see the proficiency levels rise from the current 6% worldwide!
• If every US student received explicit instruction in the approximately 439 foundational literacy concepts to read and write fluently, we would quickly see literacy proficiency rates climb from the abysmal 33% nationwide.

For years we’ve placed books in the hands of young learners in the absence of systematic literacy instruction. We have been waiting for the magic to happen, hoping that they would learn to read from having contact with the pages. It is time that we abandon this failed approach and instead commit ourselves to the work of ensuring that all students have access to the foundational skill instruction they need to become proficient readers.

The challenge is that in the journey of mastering 439 foundational literacy concepts, even the strongest learners will develop gaps due to absences, learning differences, holes in instructional materials, and more. These gaps create the equivalent of those misaligned cubes in our otherwise solid side of a Rubik’s cube.

Historically, teachers have attempted to administer diagnostic literacy assessments and then hold each student’s progress in stacks of paper that are tricky to sort, or - they have even tried the less reliable approach of attempting to hold it all in their heads. The right tools have not yet existed to free teachers from the task of collecting and storing data that empowers them to use that information to focus on instructional strategy and intentional groupings.

Root Compass is the only product of its kind that specifically focuses on the individual literacy concepts, giving educators actionable information that offers them the clearest roadmap to students’ proficiency. When combined with high quality training in the Science of Reading, the Root Compass empowers educators delivering instruction in foundational literacy to transform their students’ literacy journey.

Let’s teach our students that everything is possible with intentional focus, perseverance, and the right tools. With the help of a quick YouTube tutorial, anyone can learn to solve a Rubik’s cube. By using Root Compass, educators can efficiently track student progress and plan for dynamic grouping and strategic instruction. Together, we can remove the mystique of complex tasks by adopting a methodical approach.

Now for a limited time, Root Compass is offering free 90-day trials for the 2026-2027 school year. Following the free trial, you will have an opportunity to continue your subscription for the annual rate of $10/student.

We're confident that once you supplement your screener with the Root Compass comprehensive diagnostic, you will never want to return to teaching literacy without this pinpointed data again!

Sign up for your free trial today!