In light of the troubling National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading results, many states have implemented legislation to strengthen reading instruction. These new policies address everything from how aspiring teachers are prepared to the professional development new teachers receive and the curricula districts use. But the question remains, how much does policy work its way into teacher practice?
A recent RAND study by Anna Shapiro, Sabrina Lee, and Ashley Woo examined the current state of reading instruction across the U.S. to find out what instruction looks like in classrooms. They surveyed elementary and secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers, focusing on how often they integrate foundational reading skills into their instruction. The study focused on whether ELA teachers frequently engage their students in four foundational reading activities from the Common Core State Standards: phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, print concepts, and fluency. Surprisingly, the study found that states' reading policies do seem to matter—but only for secondary teachers.
According to the survey data, not only do two-thirds of K–5 teachers regularly use foundational reading activities (which may be lower than expected since their students are learning to read), but one-third of secondary ELA teachers do. This unexpectedly high rate of teaching foundational reading skills in secondary classrooms may indicate that students struggle with literacy beyond elementary grades, supporting NAEP data that a third of eighth-grade students are "below basic" in reading ability.
This is where state reading legislation may play a meaningful role in shaping instructional practices. The study found that elementary teachers in states with specific reading laws were just as likely to teach foundational reading skills to their students as those in states without such legislation. (It is perhaps concerning that there isn't yet a clear relationship between policy and practice, although the study did not control for how long reading legislation had been in place, which matters because some legislation is quite new and implementation takes time.) Importantly, secondary teachers were more likely to report engaging in foundational reading instruction if they taught in states with reading legislation, suggesting that policy can drive educational practices in higher grades. While the study does not offer a clear explanation for this finding, perhaps school leaders or teachers themselves were more familiar with foundational literacy practices, given the state's attention to reading instruction.
Understanding the science of reading is crucial for teachers of every grade level, as is the ability to identify and address gaps in students' foundational skills, but policy alone isn't enough. Both RAND's report and NCTQ's exploration of monitoring reading law implementation highlight the need for consistent and effective support and monitoring to ensure that all students—at all grade levels—receive the foundational reading instruction they need. The RAND study shows that including secondary educators in policy and implementation could be key to preventing older struggling readers from slipping through the cracks as they progress through school.
A recent RAND study by Anna Shapiro, Sabrina Lee, and Ashley Woo examined the current state of reading instruction across the U.S. to find out what instruction looks like in classrooms. They surveyed elementary and secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers, focusing on how often they integrate foundational reading skills into their instruction. The study focused on whether ELA teachers frequently engage their students in four foundational reading activities from the Common Core State Standards: phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, print concepts, and fluency. Surprisingly, the study found that states' reading policies do seem to matter—but only for secondary teachers.
According to the survey data, not only do two-thirds of K–5 teachers regularly use foundational reading activities (which may be lower than expected since their students are learning to read), but one-third of secondary ELA teachers do. This unexpectedly high rate of teaching foundational reading skills in secondary classrooms may indicate that students struggle with literacy beyond elementary grades, supporting NAEP data that a third of eighth-grade students are "below basic" in reading ability.
This is where state reading legislation may play a meaningful role in shaping instructional practices. The study found that elementary teachers in states with specific reading laws were just as likely to teach foundational reading skills to their students as those in states without such legislation. (It is perhaps concerning that there isn't yet a clear relationship between policy and practice, although the study did not control for how long reading legislation had been in place, which matters because some legislation is quite new and implementation takes time.) Importantly, secondary teachers were more likely to report engaging in foundational reading instruction if they taught in states with reading legislation, suggesting that policy can drive educational practices in higher grades. While the study does not offer a clear explanation for this finding, perhaps school leaders or teachers themselves were more familiar with foundational literacy practices, given the state's attention to reading instruction.
Understanding the science of reading is crucial for teachers of every grade level, as is the ability to identify and address gaps in students' foundational skills, but policy alone isn't enough. Both RAND's report and NCTQ's exploration of monitoring reading law implementation highlight the need for consistent and effective support and monitoring to ensure that all students—at all grade levels—receive the foundational reading instruction they need. The RAND study shows that including secondary educators in policy and implementation could be key to preventing older struggling readers from slipping through the cracks as they progress through school.