Does Your State Use Weak Teacher Reading Tests? New Study Says A Majority Do
NCTQ study found a majority of elementary teacher reading licensing tests leave thousands of educators nationwide unprepared to help young students.
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A majority of states use weak elementary teacher reading licensing tests 鈥� leaving thousands of young students with educators unprepared to help them learn a critical skill, a found.
According to the , 29 states and the District of Columbia used weak tests, giving false assurance to nearly 100,000 educators nationwide.
The study’s findings were released as roughly don鈥檛 meet reading expectations by fourth grade 鈥� with an even bleaker reality for historically marginalized students, the study said.
鈥淓very child deserves great reading instruction, but far too many children aren鈥檛 receiving it,鈥� NCTQ president Heather Peske said in a statement. 鈥淭his lack of preparation has a profound impact on students鈥� literacy skills and future prospects.鈥�
NCTQ reported 56% of Black students, 50% of Latino students, 52% of students in poverty, 70% of students with disabilities and 67% of English learners don鈥檛 meet reading standards, according to the .
The think tank determined whether states used strong, acceptable or weak elementary reading licensing tests based on how much each addresses the core components of scientifically based reading instruction.
The core components include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Of the 25 different tests that states used, the think tank identified 15 as weak 鈥� with only four considered acceptable and six considered strong.
In total, 18 states used strong tests 鈥� including California, Texas, Connecticut, Colorado, Ohio and Virginia 鈥� and 28 states聽used weak tests 鈥� including Florida, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Hawaii.
Iowa in particular stood out for not requiring a test at all 鈥� suggesting teachers in the state would not be well-versed in how to teach reading, the study found.
Strong tests use at least 75% of the core components, in addition to addressing struggling readers and English learners.
Acceptable tests use at least half and weak tests use less than half of the core components identified.
Weak tests include the 鈥淧raxis Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects (5001)鈥� test used in 16 states and the 鈥淧raxis Elementary Education: Content Knowledge for Teaching (7811)鈥� test used in seven states.
鈥淭eachers who aren鈥檛 prepared in the most effective instructional practices for teaching reading unknowingly enter classrooms ill-prepared to help students become successful readers,鈥� Peske said. 鈥淪tates can help ensure teachers are prepared to teach reading effectively by requiring stronger licensure tests.鈥�
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