As a child who self-taught himself to read for the most part, I doubt this. I had to sit through many "see spot run" style lessons in kindergarten, 1st, and 2n

As a child who self-taught himself to read for the most part, I doubt this. I had to sit through many "see spot run" style lessons in kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade, while being perplexed with how many of my classmates struggled. And even my "self-taught" reading involved a fair bit of coaching from my parents. I remember alphabet, sound combination and grammar exercises around 4 years old before it clicked. Plenty of kids don't even know the alphabet when they start school. It is interesting to compare those parents with my parents who felt that kids who couldn't full-on read and write by about 5 were being failed. Whether a kid will be a competent reader is probably determined by the home environment before school even starts.