The key to sight reading might be to increase the number of chances to try and radically decrease the chances of a student feeling like a failure.
I stood next to my son today during a funeral service, and when the second verse came around, I remembered how I learned to sight read.
Three hymns per week times fifty-two Sundays per year is a lot of sight reading. Standing next to my dad, I’d sing the melody for the first verse, and then switch to the bass part. Later, as I got better, I’d try a new voice part each verse. It was joyful, and fun, and there was no pressure whatsoever, singing with a large congregation and organ. (I do remember feeling frustrated when the organist would occasionally reharmonize the tune, leaving me with no choice but to switch back to the melody!)
One of the things that made it so effective was the lack of pressure. There was someone playing my part, someone next to me sight reading with me, and no one listening and correcting. I made a lot of mistakes, but I also kept improving.
Rethinking curricular sight reading to lower stakes, I think, will improve outcomes. More chances to try, and fewer chances to feel like you’ve failed, is a key to success.