Why focus on Teacher Preparation Standards to improve Elementary Reading?
Standards, whether established by state boards or state education agencies, are one of the best opportunities for states to provide direction to teacher prep programs on exactly what aspiring teachers should learn and be able to do when it comes to teaching scientifically based reading instruction. Without explicit standards, states cannot hold programs accountable. State standards should not only include descriptions of the five core components of reading (phonemic awareness and phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) but also provide specific details about what teachers should know and be able to teach for each of the core components aligned to the research. Standards should also identify the knowledge and skills teachers need to support English Learners and struggling readers, including students with dyslexia, in learning how to read.
State performance on Teacher Preparation Standards for Elementary Reading
Twenty-eight states (55%) have Strong performance in Teacher Preparation Standards for Elementary Reading
NCTQ evaluates whether states effectively use this policy lever by examining if they include detailed standards for teaching the five core reading components, as well as standards for teaching English Learners and struggling readers, in teacher preparation programs. Learn more.
Explore the key actions below to learn more about how each state is implementing policies to improve Elementary Reading.
Who stands out?
What are the key actions states
should take?
Key Resources
State of the States 2024: Elementary Reading
Explore five policy actions states can take to strengthen implementation of the science of reading.
State Reading Policy Action Guide
Discover how states can implement and sustain strong reading instruction.
References
- Also known as the structure/meaning/visual system (SMV), three-cueing describes the support for early word recognition that “[relies] on a combination of of semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues simultaneously to formulate an intelligent hypothesis about a word’s identity.” Petscher, Y., Cabell, S. Q., Catts, H. W., Compton, D. L., Foorman, B. R., Hart, S. A., … Wagner, R. K. (2020). How the science of reading informs 21st century education. Reading Research Quarterly, 55, S267-S282.
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U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Table 204.20. English learner (EL) students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools, by state: Selected years, fall 2000 through fall 2021. Digest of Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_204.20.asp
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U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Table 204.20. English learner (EL) students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools, by state: Selected years, fall 2000 through fall 2019. Digest of Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_204.20.asp
- Data on prep programs’ coverage of how to teach ELs to read is drawn from: Ellis, C., Holston, S., Drake, G., Putman, H., Swisher, A., & Peske, H. (2023). Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening elementary reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Council on Teacher Quality.