Cepeda: Reading is fundamental, so let’s evaluate teachers accordingly

This inconsistency in home support is magnified when you factor in the preparation that teachers bring to the singularly crucial task of reading instruction.

According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, 40 states (including D.C.) still either do not have sufficient licensing tests on the science of reading in place for elementary and special-education teachers, or they have no test at all. And only 11 states have adequate tests for people applying to be elementary-school or special-education teachers, even though 80 percent of students assigned to special education are there because of their struggles with reading.

To be fair, it might backfire if more states became increasingly rigorous in ensuring that teachers were better prepared to teach reading based on methods proven to yield the highest percentage of successful readers.

That’s because only 37 percent of elementary and special-education teacher-preparation programs can provide evidence that they teach scientifically based reading methods to their teacher candidates, according to NCTQ’s new report, “Strengthening Reading Instruction through Better Preparation of Elementary and Special Education Teachers.”

Teachers may bristle at more tests, more hoops to jump through in order to get into the classroom. It’s a fair complaint, given that most states (40) use a highly rigorous, subject-specific assessment in order to gain certification.

High standards pay off

The disconnect between how teachers are trained and how states license them to enter classrooms are at odds with how we evaluate student academic growth; we hold young students to a higher standard of proving proficiency via formal, standardized assessments than we do their teachers.

“If we are asking students to demonstrate their content knowledge, then we must ensure teachers have the content knowledge to teach,” said Heather Peske, the senior associate commissioner at the Center for Instructional Support in Massachusetts, a state that sets the bar high on reading credentials. She said the Massachusetts test “ensures that teacher candidates have critical reading and writing skills. Massachusetts’ fourth- and eighth-graders have placed first in the nation on national tests of reading for over a decade. We believe this is linked to our educators’ solid and demonstrated content knowledge.”

It seems like common sense that all states should require elementary and special-education teacher candidates to prove they can produce the highest number of successful readers.

But is anyone even paying attention to improving education these days?

Perhaps when our country starts investing in students again, we can prioritize reading instruction to give children — especially our most vulnerable readers — a fair shot at mastering this crucial skill.