In his State of the State address last week, Gov. Phil Murphy promised that New Jersey would reform the way reading is taught. “We will be introducing new plans to teach children the basics of reading, including sounding out letters and combining them into words. It's simple. “A focus on phonics in reading instruction is essential to the lifelong success of our children.”
Simpler to say, more difficult to execute. According to a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality:State of America: Five policy actions to strengthen implementation of the science of reading;” NJ was rated “weak” and “significantly below” the national average for implementing policies that ensure effective reading instruction. We do particularly poorly in three of the five assessment areas. Here are three failing grades (taken from the NJ profile):
- Not allowed: Setting reading standards for teacher preparation programs is one of the most important elements of reforming how reading is taught.
- Not allowed: Adopt a robust reading licensure test to ensure teachers know how to teach reading.
- Not allowed: Requires districts to select high-quality reading curriculum.
(We are strong in “reviewing teacher preparation programs” to ensure “mediocre” in including the science of reading and providing ongoing professional development for teachers in reading instruction.)
Only Maine, Montana and South Dakota rank lower.
In the status profile:
“According to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 33 percent of New Jersey’s fourth grade students cannot read at a basic level. These numbers increase sharply among Hispanic students (46% cannot read at a basic level), black students (50%), and low-income students (53%). This dismal data has nothing to do with students and everything to do with inequities in access to effective literacy instruction.“
NCTQ's rating is not an outlier. In JerseyCAN's response to Murphy's speech, data from several other nonprofit organizations, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a gold standard, concluded that “New Jersey has not moved the needle on closing socioeconomic or racial gaps in fourth-grade reading.” cited. Proficient over the past 20 years.”
Need more numbers? Only 12% of Asbury Park's fourth grade students meet reading proficiency standards. Despite emergency COVID relief supplies scheduled to run out in November, Newark is at 22%, Trenton is at 11% and Camden is at 8%.
What needs to change for Murphy to keep his State of the State promises? NCTQ gives us two big items. First, we must adopt policies that implement five action items on teacher preparation, teacher quality, and student literacy. This requires DOE drilling down into specific, detailed standards for teacher preparation programs that go beyond simply listing the five core components of reading science. From your profile:
“[The DOE] We must require teacher preparation programs to include training on how to teach English language learners and struggling readers, and then look at program adjustments to implement the new standards.”
Second, the state legislature should pass legislation requiring school districts to use a high-quality reading curriculum that has been vetted by the Department of Education. (Many state education agencies have lists of acceptable curricula that adhere to the science of reading, and districts must select from that list.)
In other words, it's not about updating policy and declaring victory. Follow-up and accountability. In some states, districts that do not implement scientific curriculum reading actually lose funding. In some states, if students cannot read by the end of third grade, despite extensive intervention, they are re-reading that grade. (Hey, if a country can go to the mat for gender identity support, why can't it do the same for literacy?)
Some examples:
in louisiana The state requires all K-3 teachers, elementary school principals, and assistant principals to complete a 55-hour training course in reading science.
in Utah State education agencies offer very specific reading competencies for teacher preparation programs.
ohio The Department of Education passed legislation requiring the Department of Education to create a list of districts that would use it to purchase high-quality reading curriculum and evidence-based reading intervention programs.
Mississippi Provides curriculum evaluation tools that provide guidance on evaluating curriculum, including determining how well the curriculum supports teachers in teaching English language learners.
arkansas Provides a list of approved dyslexia and intervention programs to help guide districts in selecting high-quality materials.
All of these states have made great strides in improving student reading skills. People talk about the “Mississippi Miracle,” which the DOE protests. But fourth graders went from being ranked as the second-worst readers in the nation in 2013 to 21st in 2022.
And that's a population that's much more in need than New Jersey. From Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times:
“Over the past decade, through a concerted effort to ensure that every child can read by the end of third grade, and extensive reliance on research and statistics, Mississippi has shown that it is possible to raise standards even among last-place states. “It has the highest child poverty and hunger and the second highest teenage birth rate.”
Tomorrow is the monthly meeting of the State Board of Education. These meetings sometimes devolve into taking a holier-than-thou attitude toward trendy social justice memes. If the Murphy administration really cares about equity, it will start by ensuring through policy and law that our children learn to read.
[photo credit] Flickr: Phil Murphy