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New research by Associate Professor of Education Donna Coch contradicts the long-held theory that learning to read ends in the fourth grade, reports TIME.

By analyzing brain waves, Coch found that fourth-graders do not experience a change in automatic word processing, the article notes. If students are still learning to process words automatically beyond fourth and even the fifth grade, then it is important for reading instruction to continue beyond the fourth grade, says Coch. “This certainly does suggest that teachers beyond fourth grade are still teachers of reading,” she tells TIME.

Read the full story, published 7/23/14 by TIME.