It's been touched on in many other comments, but I think that one of the key things that affects reading proficiency is practice time. This definitely includes being read to; parents spending time reading to their kids is often a large multiple of what the school environment provides. Nothing beats kids getting in those additional hours of practice at home.

I don't have strong opinions about different methods of teaching but an important principal is that education cannot be totally outsourced to the education system. To the best of their capability, parents make a large contribution. The best educational result is always a shared effort.