In 1931, Earl, James, and Carl Taylor developed the Ophthalmograph and Metronoscope, two of the first instruments to be used in reading instruction in the United States.

A generation after the development of these early reading instruments, Stanford E. Taylor founded Educational Developmental Laboratories, Inc. (later EDL/McGraw-Hill) and invented the Reading Eye I Camera. Mr. Taylor conducted the only large-scale eye-movement recording norm study, in which 39 colleges and universities participated.

While working with EDL, Mr. Taylor designed the Look, Listen, Learn system of beginning instruction for children and the Learning 100 system of adult basic education. Both systems employed a variety of instructional devices also invented by Mr. Taylor, including the Aud-X, the Controlled Reader and the Tach-X Tachistoscope.

Later, Stanford Taylor founded Instructional/Communications Technology, Inc. (I/CT), which produced a comprehensive Guided Reading library, an array of tachistoscopic programs, listening training materials, and an extensive comprehension and study skills kit series.  In addition, Mr. Taylor developed the Guided Reader, a simplified controlled reading device, the Tach-Mate tachistoscope, and the Apple® version of the Visagraph®, a computerized eye-movement recording system.

Taylor Associates/Communications, Inc., was founded in 1995, and shortly after its launch the first versions of the instructional components of Reading Plus® were released.  In 2002, research and development began for a fully integrated web-based version of Reading Plus®.