Casey Sullivan Taylor is the Policy Director for Early Literacy for ExcelinEd.
The United States has a literacy crisis: Two-thirds of fourth and eighth graders do not meet grade-level reading proficiency standards according to the nation’s most recent report card. To address this crisis, a diverse group of education and policy leaders recently met to discuss creating a path toward improving literacy across our nation.
This path is based on the science of reading (SoR), a large body of research evidence that details the processes involved in successfully teaching students to read. While there are many successful young readers in our schools, a significant number of students struggle to master fundamental reading skills despite the efforts of dedicated teachers. Even after more than 50 years of research contributing to the SoR body of evidence, the gap between research and practice persists.
Attendees at the meeting—including leading literacy researchers, educators, literacy specialists, district leaders, elected officials and policymakers—addressed a variety of strategic topics, including the importance of creating comprehensive state policies to support schools implementing the SoR. This group of experts discussed how to incorporate SoR evidence-based practices that transform reading instruction and improve student outcomes; the critical need for SoR alignment in educator preparation programs; the importance of high-quality instructional materials; and how the adoption of comprehensive early literacy policy created a foundation for change in states like Florida and Mississippi.
Effective state policies based on the SoR align with reading research that demonstrates how the brain learns to read and how the most effective instructional methods can reach all students via high-quality instructional materials. A critical component of successful policy is equipping school leaders and classroom teachers with the high-quality research and evidence-based professional learning and resources they need to transform instruction and improve student reading outcomes.
In addition to offering ongoing professional learning for educators who are teaching reading, schools of education at colleges and universities can consider aligning their educator preparation programs to the SoR. Currently, two-thirds of states have legislation requiring a passing score on a SoR assessment to become a licensed elementary teacher; however, many educator preparation programs have not yet aligned course content with the SOR.
“One of the things I emphasize to my future teachers is that you cannot teach what you don’t know,” Dr. Young-Suk Grace Kim, professor and senior associate dean at the University of California, said at the meeting. “We need to have a better understanding of how reading develops—what processes are involved. And we need to think about how to apply pedagogy into that.”
During the meeting, Dr. Kim presented and discussed a paper she co-authored with Dr. Catherine Snow, entitled The Science of Reading is Incomplete Without the Science of Teaching Reading. As stated by Dr. Kim, “The impressive body of knowledge about reading development should match rigorous direct evidence about how students are being taught to read and how teachers have learned what they know about teaching literacy.”
Dr. Kim went on to write,
“Teaching reading is highly skilled work. It requires well-trained teachers and educators who are knowledgeable about reading development, data-based and assessment-based instructional decisions, and a wide array of evidence-based and personalized teaching strategies.”
Effective, comprehensive early literacy policy is a solution that can establish a strong foundation to activate key levers of change simultaneously. However, policy must be implemented strategically. More specifically, this foundation for systemic change must incorporate SoR-based literacy instruction that improves student reading outcomes.
Colorado State Senator Bob Rankin felt encouraged and enlightened as a result of participating in the meeting, which highlighted a need for quality literacy policy and long-term funding.
“My role as a legislator differed from that of the other participants,” said Sen. Rankin. “Still, I was amazed and motivated by the support that the group evidenced for the importance of policy and budget to support the science of reading. I exchanged ideas and got references to the actions of other states that will guide Colorado’s next session bills.”
The consensus among this distinguished group was that there remains much to be accomplished. Attendee Dr. Frances Baez, chief academic officer at the Los Angeles United School District, said, “This has been a wonderful opportunity for leaders from various industries—policy, institutions of higher education, school districts, organizations and curriculum developers—to converge ideas. The discussion surfaced clear intersections and the importance of these industries to have ongoing collaboration to meet literacy outcomes for all students.”
Indisputably, continued strategic collaboration and alignment must be deliberately maintained. This is essential to achieve the necessary changes that will lead to improved policies, more effective pedagogy, and increased reading proficiency across our nation.
We look forward to a future in which educator preparation programs, professional learning and literacy curricula consistently align with evidence-based instructional practices founded in the SOR so that every child learns to read and has hope for a brighter tomorrow.
State policymakers and educators can explore ExcelinEd’s policy toolkit to learn more about the fundamental principles of effective early literacy policy, view model policies and explore the Comprehensive How-To Guide.
