The link in the article about emphasising phonics[0] vaguely answers that question in the reverse, in terms of what was being taught instead; a podcast series from 2022 called Sold a Story[1] (transcripts also available at the link) gives a much more detailed answer about why.

[0] https://apnews.com/article/phonics-science-reading-c715dea43...

[1] https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/