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Despite a newfound national focus on the science of reading, states, including California, aren’t doing enough to support and train teachers to effectively teach literacy, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality.
Thirty-two states have passed laws or implemented policies related to evidence-based reading instruction in the last decade. Despite that, nearly every state could do more to support literacy instruction, according to the report, “Five Policy Actions to Strengthen Implementation of the Science of Reading.“
“While states are rightly prioritizing literacy, they are not focusing enough attention on teacher effectiveness and teacher capacity to teach reading aligned to the science,” council President Heather Peske told EdSource. “If these efforts are to succeed … the state needs to ensure that teachers are prepared and supported from the time that they are in teacher preparation programs to the time that they enter classrooms.”
The report rated states as strong, moderate, weak or unacceptable, based on whether they have policies to ensure students receive science-based reading instruction that includes teaching them to sound out words, a process known as phonics. Only 12 states, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia, were rated as strong.
California received a moderate rating.
The state gets high marks for setting reading standards for teacher preparation programs, adopting a strong reading licensure test for teachers, and requiring districts to select high-quality reading curricula. California scored lower on whether it requires ongoing literacy training for teachers and on its oversight of teacher preparation programs to ensure they are teaching the science of reading.
While California provides funds to school districts to offer literacy training to teachers, it does not require all elementary school teachers to be trained in the science of reading, as other states do, Peske said, adding that without proper training, teachers often flounder when teaching literacy, despite having access to high-quality instructional materials.
Effective teaching is critical to improving students’ reading skills. More than 90% of students would learn to read with effective reading instruction, according to the report.
About 40% of students entering fourth grade in the United States can read at a basic level, according to the research. The latest California test scores show fewer than half of the students who were tested were proficient in reading. These results have not changed much in the past decade.
“Why do we see staggering numbers of children, especially children of color and from low-income backgrounds, without fundamental literacy skills? said Denise Forte, president and CEO of The Education Trust. “Because in many districts and schools nationwide, outdated teaching methods and curricula that have been proven ineffective, and even harmful, are still being used.”
The report comes as California and other states are renewing their focus on the science of reading, which is based on over 50 years of research that provides a clear picture of how effective literacy instruction can produce a skilled reader, Peske said.
Only two of the 41 teacher preparation programs reviewed in California adequately cover all five components of the science of reading, according to the report. The five components include phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
But that could change soon. By July 1, California will require teacher preparation programs to provide literacy training based on the science of reading and the state’s new literacy standards. The new standards include support for struggling readers, English learners and pupils with exceptional needs, incorporating dyslexia guidelines for the first time.
The state is also eliminating the unpopular Reading Instruction Competence Assessment in 2025. It will be replaced with a performance assessment based on literacy standards and a new set of Teaching Performance Expectations.
“This latest set of standards and TPEs are probably the strongest statements we’ve had about reading and literacy in teacher preparation,” said Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. “We are going gangbusters to get them in the field.”
More than half of the states use outside accreditors to review teacher preparation programs, which researchers say is not ideal. The report includes California as one of those states, but Sandy says that is not the case. Teacher preparation programs in California must be reviewed every seven years by a commission-approved institutional review board made up of university faculty and practitioners across all credential areas, Sandy said. Members are trained on the standards, or have a background or credential in the subject being reviewed, she said.
Teacher preparation programs that want a national accreditation can choose to use an outside accreditor, but it is not required for state accreditation, Sandy said.
California should also include data it collects on teacher pass rates on the state reading licensure test as part of the review of teacher preparation programs, Peske said.
California’s changes to teacher preparation and emphasis on the science of reading were taken into consideration by National Council on Teacher Quality’s researchers when evaluating the state, Peske said. The research was also sent to the California Department of Education at least twice for review. No one at the department said the research was in error, according to the council.
The council has provided a guide to help states implement and sustain strong reading instruction.
“Helping all children learn to read is possible when you have teachers who’ve been prepared in the science of reading,” Peske said. “Much like an orchestra needs each section of instruments to come together to successfully create music, states need to implement multiple teacher-focused reading policies that work together to improve student outcomes.”
Panelists discussed dual admission as a solution for easing the longstanding challenges in California’s transfer system.
A grassroots campaign recalled two members of the Orange Unified School District in an election that cost more than half a million dollars.
Legislation that would remove one of the last tests teachers are required to take to earn a credential in California passed the Senate Education Committee.
Part-time instructors, many who work for decades off the tenure track and at a lower pay rate, have been called “apprentices to nowhere.”
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Elle 3 months ago3 months ago
The Lucy Caulkins whole language method is essentially how high IQ toddlers teach themselves to read. (We've likely all heard of 3 year olds who teach themselves to read without deliberate literacy instruction.) These kinds of kiddos have excellent visual spatial memory and teach themselves to read by remembering the letter pattern for each word. Eventually they also suss out how letter patterns correspond to sounds. The Lucy Caulkins method would work great in a … Read More
The Lucy Caulkins whole language method is essentially how high IQ toddlers teach themselves to read. (We’ve likely all heard of 3 year olds who teach themselves to read without deliberate literacy instruction.) These kinds of kiddos have excellent visual spatial memory and teach themselves to read by remembering the letter pattern for each word. Eventually they also suss out how letter patterns correspond to sounds. The Lucy Caulkins method would work great in a preschool just for high IQ tots. However, the brains of high IQ/ highly gifted children are very different from typical children and you can’t fit square pegs in round holes so to speak. The method itself isn’t bad, per se, it’s just not appropriate for your average public school. Parts of it can and should be salvaged for the appropriate audience.
Gabe 3 months ago3 months ago
My 80 year old parents hold no degrees or certificates in education or the science of reading. They are biochemistry Ph.D.s from Eastern Europe and they taught 5 kids to read in English at home despite it being their second language. Phonics and sight words from the Dolch list is all it takes. The money California would spend on more teacher training could be better spent blasting parents with the message that they should be … Read More
My 80 year old parents hold no degrees or certificates in education or the science of reading. They are biochemistry Ph.D.s from Eastern Europe and they taught 5 kids to read in English at home despite it being their second language. Phonics and sight words from the Dolch list is all it takes.
The money California would spend on more teacher training could be better spent blasting parents with the message that they should be teaching their own children to read. Our early education professionals would be far less burdened if parents would properly prepare their kids for school before they send them to school.
Meredith 3 months ago3 months ago
Former teacher and admin here. First 7 years in public school, rest of career in private K-12. A big factor in reading skills is whether or not the child's parents teach him or her to read at home outside of school. At public schools, it is rarer and rarer to find Kindergartners who come in already able to read. The parents are conditioned to assume the school will do it. In the private school setting, … Read More
Former teacher and admin here. First 7 years in public school, rest of career in private K-12. A big factor in reading skills is whether or not the child’s parents teach him or her to read at home outside of school. At public schools, it is rarer and rarer to find Kindergartners who come in already able to read. The parents are conditioned to assume the school will do it. In the private school setting, in a typical Kindergarten class most of the English-speaking students already can read in English. That’s because private school parents are more skeptical of the education system in general and more DIY. They think it’s risky to not to teach their kids to read themselves. Go figure. It certainly makes teaching at a private school much easier.
I think more public school parents should take this risk-averse approach. Expecting the public school to teach your child to read is leaving it to chance.
Christina Romero 3 months ago3 months ago
Thank you!!! I am a high school teacher. Kids are coming into 9th grade reading at a 1st grade level!! High school is not the time to teach kids to read, and it is very hard with the limited time and resources we have with the students, to help them improve. If they can't read, they can read to learn. We spend most of our time improving reading skills to the best of our … Read More
Thank you!!! I am a high school teacher. Kids are coming into 9th grade reading at a 1st grade level!! High school is not the time to teach kids to read, and it is very hard with the limited time and resources we have with the students, to help them improve. If they can’t read, they can read to learn. We spend most of our time improving reading skills to the best of our ability, but it is not enough.
Next problem is we really don’t know how to teach them to read. Credential programs don’t spend a lot of time on reading instruction, but require teachers to pass a RICA. Most teachers have never taught reading the way it should be taught. There aren’t many accessible, affordable professional development situations done by Literacy Experts, our districts will pay for or we can take.
We need courses or programs at a community college level or local level that are accessible and teachers can take to learn how to teach reading. More certificate programs for Literacy Development Teaching need to be available and incentivized outside of higher education. Credential programs barely touch the surface and it is expensive for a teacher to return.
Standards, Common Core, any and all of the buzz word concepts or programs don’t matter if kids can’t read. They can’t do math, science, electives, learn skills, etc. etc. etc. if they can’t read!!! Reading instruction stops at the 3rd grade, but kids are still moved on without mastery of this hugely important skill. We aren’t ensuring fundamental skills are mastered to support high level learning. Period.
I had a kid in a KIPP Charter School and a kid in the public school district. The difference is KIPP taught reading skills until they mastered each skill. They didn’t move on until the kids mastered each level of reading. Public school is more worried about the calendar and pacing schedule they move on when kids have not mastered skills. The difference is KIPP put out readers. Kids who can now read to learn just by ensuring they mastered the skills before they moved on. And they required them to read every day for practice.
In public schools, the kids get passed on and on and on without mastering skills and we get kids in high school that can’t read. Because kids can’t read requiring them to read books they can’t read doesn’t work. It is a travesty. KIPP teachers were all trained to be literacy experts in teaching the reading process. Public school teachers are not supported or trained to do so. It is not rocket science. We should all be teaching to mastery instead of shoving standards down kids throats they can’t learn because they can’t read.
There should be intervention years, where all they do is learn to ready from Literacy experts. Taking a year out early on to ensure these students can read is necessary. This won’t be considered, but keeping them in school until 18-19 or giving them credit recovery to pass classes in minimal assignments or graduate them with a 3rd grade reading level we will do. Really backwards.
We need a serious revamp on literacy instruction and expectations in the school systems. We are turning our an illiterate society and it is horrible.
Dr. Bill Conrad 3 months ago3 months ago
It is time to end the Blame Game. The education leadership within California has totally failed children and families with regard to teaching children to read using science-based curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments. The 2022-23 ELA State test results demonstrate this abject failure with only 46.6% of children scoring proficient or advanced in ELA; 29.85% of Black students are proficient or advanced and only 36% of Hispanic students are proficient or advanced in ELA. This is … Read More
It is time to end the Blame Game.
The education leadership within California has totally failed children and families with regard to teaching children to read using science-based curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments. The 2022-23 ELA State test results demonstrate this abject failure with only 46.6% of children scoring proficient or advanced in ELA; 29.85% of Black students are proficient or advanced and only 36% of Hispanic students are proficient or advanced in ELA.
This is not a child problem. This is not a family problem. This is not a testing problem. No need to rage agains the thermometers or fall into the blame game trap. This is an adult problem. The teacher will always be the key to learning how to read.
Tragically, the educators were handed the solution to teaching reading over 20 years ago by the National Reading Panel. They recommended that reading curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments incorporate the fundamental reading ideas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Of course this approach was not sexy or “creative” and it was promptly rejected by educators in California who preferred to follow the Balanced Reading Approach where looking at pictures to determine meanings supplanted a relentless focus on the key ideas of reading. The theory of action was that teachers need the autonomy to decide how to teach reading. Not all children learned to read in the same way. No need for science. And the reading academic achievement results demonstrate the failure of this theory of action.
The colleges of education failed to follow the science of teaching reading instead they elected to teach teaching candidates the flawed Balanced Reading Approach. Teachers left the colleges of eduction unprepared to teach reading correctly.
It is beyond time for the educational leadership in California to change their ways and mandate that all teachers follow science and evidence-based approaches to teaching reading. No exceptions. It may not be sexy. It may not be innovative. It may not totally honor teacher autonomy. But it is the right way to go. Enough is enough. Children and families deserve much better. No?
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Dr. Patel 3 months ago3 months ago
"The teacher will always be the key to learning how to read." If you mean school teacher, this is factually and historically false. Before free public schools were widespread and the law provided children the right to attend a free public school, the most common way to learn to read throughout history was at home if one parent was literate. If the parents were illiterate but motivated, children learned through religious instruction. It is clear that … Read More
“The teacher will always be the key to learning how to read.”
If you mean school teacher, this is factually and historically false. Before free public schools were widespread and the law provided children the right to attend a free public school, the most common way to learn to read throughout history was at home if one parent was literate. If the parents were illiterate but motivated, children learned through religious instruction.
It is clear that for children whose parents are semiliterate or less, the best way to learn to read is indeed at school with qualified and trained teachers. It is not so clear that literate and educated parents should leave this job to the schools as well. Poor reading skills among California children is a family culture problem.
Dr. Bill Conrad 3 months ago3 months ago
Seriously. We have to end the Blame Game. It is the responsibility of the educational system to teach the children to read whether or not families do anything at all to help their children read. Our democratic society has a vested interest in making sure all of its citizens are literate. FDR taught us that our democracy depends upon citizens who can make wise choices! Making wise choices depends upon a quality education. A … Read More
Seriously. We have to end the Blame Game. It is the responsibility of the educational system to teach the children to read whether or not families do anything at all to help their children read.
Our democratic society has a vested interest in making sure all of its citizens are literate. FDR taught us that our democracy depends upon citizens who can make wise choices! Making wise choices depends upon a quality education. A quality education begins with teaching all citizens to read!
If the citizens are illiterate, they will be beholden to the elites who are literate. That is no way to run a democratic society!
If the children are not reading, it is the fault of the educators – administrators, teachers, and governance!
Our children and families deserve no less!
Elle 3 months ago3 months ago
Well, you just blamed somebody. Point is if you teach your children to read at home, all the reading wars stuff becomes irrelevant background noise. Your kids can get on with the business of reading to learn. Instead of pouting and saying you shouldn’t have to be the one to teach your own child to read, just do the work to reap the reward.
Dr. Bill Conrad 3 months ago3 months ago
I hardly think that it’s blaming to expect educators to achieve their main mission -teaching all children to be readers!
Some educators would prefer that families do this work. With the way families are choosing to leave the K-12 education system, I think that they got the message!
Walter 3 months ago3 months ago
Next year will be year 40 of my time as a high school history teacher, and every year it has been voiced that we need more effort toward teaching poor readers and non-readers to read. Year after year, one sees how poor reading skills affect every aspect of the students' academic progress. Colleagues have spoken up at staff meetings, district meetings, and community meetings; yet nothing substantial has been introduced. Maybe with this new … Read More
Next year will be year 40 of my time as a high school history teacher, and every year it has been voiced that we need more effort toward teaching poor readers and non-readers to read. Year after year, one sees how poor reading skills affect every aspect of the students’ academic progress. Colleagues have spoken up at staff meetings, district meetings, and community meetings; yet nothing substantial has been introduced. Maybe with this new push something can be accomplished at all grade levels, especially at the most formative stages. This includes books in the home, bedtime stories, and a modeling in the home that reading is fun, enlightening, and fundamental.
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Jill Kerper Mora 3 months ago3 months ago
Walter, you are making a very important point. Much of the problem with low reading achievement is caused by factors that are beyond the control of schools and teachers. The scientific research shows that by third grade, testing and statistics cannot show that low levels of reading comprehension are attributable to poor decoding skills. Consequently, claims that reading achievement scores are caused by teachers in the lower grades not teaching phonics. The only variable in … Read More
Walter, you are making a very important point. Much of the problem with low reading achievement is caused by factors that are beyond the control of schools and teachers. The scientific research shows that by third grade, testing and statistics cannot show that low levels of reading comprehension are attributable to poor decoding skills. Consequently, claims that reading achievement scores are caused by teachers in the lower grades not teaching phonics.
The only variable in reading scores that is clearly identifiable is lack of English language proficiency among students classified as English Learners or reclassified as Fluent English Proficient who speak a language other than English in the home. The public rarely gets to see this demographic of students’ scores on standardized reading tests disaggregated from the native English speakers population. We are not currently a society that values reading for pleasure or for information beyond what we see on a computer screen or on our cell phones. The schools cannot solve all the problems of our society and teachers are not to blame for factors beyond our control.
Bruce Horsley 3 months ago3 months ago
The sad part of the dilemma in reading is that students do not want to be literate and many students do not have support at home to read. We can throw millions into training and programs, but you can not create intrinsic motivation.
California has more problems with the plethora of foreign languages that students speak as their primary language. It is not the government’s responsibility to help students read. The government has enough on its plate.
Cheryl Hulgan 3 months ago3 months ago
California has flip flopped with reading strategies and practices for decades. I learned reading well by phonics in the middle to late 1960s but my brother learned reading by sight just seven years behind me. I retired from teaching high school English in 2022. I hold a graduate degree with Reading Specialist certification yet so little of my studies were useable in my classroom because state policies and expectations were constantly changing. As a result, … Read More
California has flip flopped with reading strategies and practices for decades. I learned reading well by phonics in the middle to late 1960s but my brother learned reading by sight just seven years behind me. I retired from teaching high school English in 2022. I hold a graduate degree with Reading Specialist certification yet so little of my studies were useable in my classroom because state policies and expectations were constantly changing. As a result, our district’s recommendations at PD sessions frequently differed year to year and sometimes semester to semester.
Moreover, California repeats a big mistake aiming at educational frameworks and removing teacher tests that are “too hard” to improve diversity among teachers and students. To improve education, work on getting and keeping students in school. Without higher attendance, changing what teachers and staff do is done in vain.
Diane Glickman 3 months ago3 months ago
California keeps changing the reading programs to spend money on materials. I am a Credentialed Reading Teacher and there was nothing for me to teach. I had to get an additional Special Education Credential to work in LAUSD to get a job. There are no Remedial Reading classes to catch kids up in Elementary, Middle and High School. There is no emphasis on Reading Comprehension. Kids just memorize words but have no understanding of what … Read More
California keeps changing the reading programs to spend money on materials. I am a Credentialed Reading Teacher and there was nothing for me to teach. I had to get an additional Special Education Credential to work in LAUSD to get a job. There are no Remedial Reading classes to catch kids up in Elementary, Middle and High School. There is no emphasis on Reading Comprehension. Kids just memorize words but have no understanding of what they are reading. The librarians in the state have been so reduced that the school libraries are usually closed. The love of reading is not in the California State Curriculum. Put me on a committee and I will bring reading back to California.
Victoria Canote 3 months ago3 months ago
The fact that students are behind in reading does not have to do with teacher training. It has nothing to do with training. Schools do not include phonics or phonemic awareness in the curriculum; and teachers aren’t “allowed” to teach these things. Instead they adopt programs that alliw kids to sit and stare at books during reading time when kids are coming in at a pre-school level in third grade. You have to be a … Read More
The fact that students are behind in reading does not have to do with teacher training. It has nothing to do with training. Schools do not include phonics or phonemic awareness in the curriculum; and teachers aren’t “allowed” to teach these things. Instead they adopt programs that alliw kids to sit and stare at books during reading time when kids are coming in at a pre-school level in third grade. You have to be a renegade like I am ( a seventeen year veteran) and make up your own spelling lists to teach fundamentals such as phonics.
The answer is not to continue piling more useless trainings on teachers’ plates; but rather to “let” them teach fundamentals such as phonics the way they know how.
Beth 3 months ago3 months ago
I agree with incorporating dyslexia and struggling readers but I question the validity of this study. The states rated high are banning books by and about all minorities especially POC including the dictionary. MS is ranked low in student achievement and funding per student. There might be some flaws in the study.
Beverly Young 3 months ago3 months ago
Citing NCTQ without referencing their shady background and controversial past makes the whole report meaningless.
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Jill Kerper Mora 3 months ago3 months ago
I agree with your comment about NCTQ. Their evaluations of teacher credential programs have no basis in scientific research methods. They attempt to become a sort of private regulatory agency to have power and control over academic teacher education programs to serve their political agenda. Consider, for example, that they claim to be able to determine the future effectiveness of teacher candidates who will be teaching multilingual learners in California schools based on the number … Read More
I agree with your comment about NCTQ. Their evaluations of teacher credential programs have no basis in scientific research methods. They attempt to become a sort of private regulatory agency to have power and control over academic teacher education programs to serve their political agenda.
Consider, for example, that they claim to be able to determine the future effectiveness of teacher candidates who will be teaching multilingual learners in California schools based on the number of minutes of lectures in particular research topics like phonemic awareness and comprehension. They claim that they can collect data on the minutes of instruction based on an analysis of literacy faculty’s syllabi for reading methods courses. Then they allegedly make causal connections with the content of credential program courses and “the science of reading.” They claim that there is a panel of experts who then evaluates the overall quality of a credential program.
There is a panel of literacy experts who meets regularly at every university to determine the effectiveness of the university’s teacher credential programs. They’re called faculty meetings. The NCTQ lacks credibility with academic literacy faculty and researchers. Policymakers should not buy into their hype.