John Z. Strong

John Z. Strong, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Literacy Education in the Department of Learning and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo. He also serves as Associate Director of Research in the Center for Literacy and Reading Instruction. A former classroom teacher, his fundamental goal as a researcher is to improve reading and writing instruction in schools through the design, implementation, and evaluation of research-aligned instructional practices, materials, and assessments. His research centers experimental and quasi-experimental studies of interventions to improve elementary and secondary school students’ foundational reading skills, reading comprehension, writing, and motivation to read.

• PhD, University of Delaware, Education (2019)
• MEd, University of Delaware, Reading (2014)
• BA, University of Delaware, English Education (2010)

• UB Exceptional Scholar – Young Investigator Award; University at Buffalo; 2024-06-03;
• Service to Reading Award; Niagara Frontier Reading Council; 2023-06-14;
• Best Paper Award; Literacy Research Association; 2020-12-01;
• Emerging Scholars Fellowship; Reading Hall of Fame; 2020-08-03;
• Timothy & Cynthia Shanahan Outstanding Dissertation Award; International Literacy Association; 2020-07-28;

• Strong, J. Z., Tortorelli, L. S., & Anderson, B. E. (2024). Read STOP Write: Teaching foundational skills in a multicomponent informational reading and writing intervention. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1389
• Tortorelli, L. S., Strong, J. Z., & Anderson, B. E. (2024). Multisyllabic decoding achievement and relation to vocabulary at the end of elementary school. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 246, 106018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2024.106018
• May, H., Strong, J. Z., & Walpole, S. (2024). The effects of Bookworms literacy curriculum on student achievement in grades 2-5. Scientific Studies of Reading, 28(3), 321–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2023.2284811
• Strong, J. Z., & Anderson, B. E. (2024). Effects of a summer tutoring program on reading achievement in grades K-5. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 40(5), 456–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2023.2266807
• Strong, J. Z. (2023). Investigating the effects and social validity of an informational text structure intervention for reading and writing in grades four and five. Reading Psychology, 44(7), 820-852. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2023.2202172

• Strong, J. Z., Tortorelli, L. S., Edlefson, A. K., & Anderson, B. E. (2025, April). Validation of the multisyllabic decoding inventory in grades 4-5. Paper to be presented at the 2025 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO.;
• Strong, J., Tortorelli, L., Anderson, B., Cho. E., & Fronczak, D. (2024, July). Effects of a multicomponent intervention on reading skills and motivation in grades 4-5. Paper presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading 31st Annual Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark.;
• Strong, J., Tortorelli, L., Cho, E., Anderson, B., & Edlefson, A. (2025, July). Effects of a quasi-experimental study of Read STOP Write on fourth- and fifth-grade students’ foundational reading skills and comprehension. Paper to be presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading 32nd Annual Meeting, Calgary, AB.;
• Tortorelli, L. S., Strong, J. Z., Anderson, B. E., & Edlefson, A. K. (2025, April). Multisyllabic decoding challenges for students above and below the decoding threshold attending a diverse urban elementary school. In L. S. Tortorelli (Chair), Crossing the decoding threshold: Research, remedy, and repair for older students with word recognition needs. Symposium to be conducted at the 2025 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO.;
• Tortorelli, L., Strong, J., & Anderson, B. (2024, December). Yes, they can read hard words: Multisyllabic decoding achievement at the end of elementary school. In J. Downs (Chair), Beyond third grade: Exploring research on foundational word reading skills with older readers. Symposium conducted at the Literacy Research Association 74th Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA.;

• Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI): Innovating Beginning Reading Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners; Federal Government; Institute of Education Sciences; Awarded; (09/01/2024-08/31/2029)
• Read STOP Write: Development of a multicomponent intervention in grades 4-8.; Foundation and Research Organization; Advanced Education Research and Development Fund: Reading Reimagined; Awarded; (07/01/2024-12/31/2025)
• Read STOP Write: Development of a multicomponent intervention in grades 4-5; Foundation and Research Organization; Advanced Education Research and Development Fund: Reading Reimagined; Awarded; (09/01/2022-06/30/2024)

• Editorial Review Board, The Elementary School Journal
  06/01/2024-05/31/2025
• Editorial Review Board, Journal of Literacy Research
  01/01/2024-12/31/2025
• Editorial Review Board, Reading & Writing Quarterly
  10/01/2023-12/31/2025
• Editorial Review Board, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
  01/31/2021-12/31/2025

• Program Chair, AERA Research in Reading and Literacy Special Interest Group (SIG #11)
  04/28/2025-04/30/2028

• Associate Editor; The Reading Teacher
  06/01/2022-06/30/2024