Literacy is foundational to education, to work, and to civic life. As global and digital forces continue to shrink the world, the abilities to read and communicate are basic to individual opportunity and the social good. First, decisions must be informed by solid research, not merely by ideology or political expediency. More than a century of ongoing inquiry into how literacy best develops, including among diverse learners in varied situations, has identified effective teaching practices and the conditions that foster learning. Everyone involved in education-related decisions has a responsibility to attend to that research, and disciplinary organizations have a responsibility to provide it in ways that all can access. Second, the needs and interests of all learners--early childhood through university--must guide these efforts. Responsibility for meeting student needs and interests is complexly shared, by parents, teachers, schools, communities, and governments. The following conditions must be provided for literacy learning through the following four areas of action: (1) Capacity Building; (2) Equity in Education; (3) Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Literacy Education; and (4) Assessments for Learning and for Accountability.