Universal Mastery

Literacy levels remain far lower than they should be. Even in regions with strong educational infrastructure, a large portion of the population struggles with basic written material, and only a small minority reach advanced levels of reading and writing. International assessments often obscure this by grouping all competent readers together, masking how few can truly engage with complex texts or express sophisticated ideas in writing.

When looking at the multidisciplinary body of research integrated into Pictures Are For Babies, it becomes clear that the performance ceiling for all students is much higher than normally thought.

• The ceiling is not biological. Research shows that 90 to 95 percent of students can read at grade level with proper instruction. The most common reason for reading difficulties is phonological deficits that quickly go away with correct instruction.
• The research needed to accelerate literacy acquisition has been available for decades, but has never before put together into a coherent whole.
• Deliberate practice has always required expert guidance. Thanks to Trane, every student trains like a top performer.
• Research shows acceleration is possible when high-quality, representative experience is compressed into a tighter timeline using structured feedback, gradual complexity, and expert-like modeling.

Pictures Are For Babies is designed to create those conditions and to deliver them to all students. It is not interested with helping only the best performers or those whose parents can afford private tutoring or much more expensive offerings which fall short of the same level of alignment with the research. It does not aim to close small gaps or offer marginal improvements. The goal is to bring every student, regardless of background or initial ability, into full command of every aspect of literacy. Mastery is no longer reserved for a few. With the right system, it becomes the default.