The Relationship Between Equitable Reading Instruction and Student Outcomes

• In Event: Connections Between Inquiry-Based Teacher Practices and Student Outcomes

Abstract

Objective

Over the last five years, we have worked with Student Achievement Partners (SAP) to develop observational measures that assess and support equitable, standards-aligned ELA teaching. We adapted SAP’s Instructional Practice Guides (IPGs) - coaching rubrics designed to support “Common Core aligned instruction” - into standardized observation tools for reliable use at scale. The resulting product, Tools for Equitable Reading Instruction (TERI; see Figure 1), analyzes how teachers help students comprehend complex texts while cultivating literary criticality and joy (Aukerman & Schuldt, 2021; Reznitskaya et al., 2009; Muhammad, 2020). This paper highlights our learning about the relationship between practices captured by the TERI and student outcomes during a study in Washington DC Public Schools (DCPS), and our learning from ongoing work in Atlanta and Memphis.

Framework

We work from an expansive definition of instructional quality that includes teacher-student classroom interactions (Pianta & Hamre, 2009), tasks and texts a teacher selects, and curricular resources alignment with grade-level expectations (Remillard & Heck, 2014; Walkowiak et al., 2014). We theorize that equitable reading instruction necessitates teachers cultivate robust pedagogical content knowledge and know their students, including their identities, unique assets and challenges, and socio-cultural forces that impact motivation and engagement (Cabell & Hwang, 2020; Milner, 2020; Noguerón‐Liu, 2020; see Figure 2)

Data and Methods

We observed 611 lessons from 71 ELA teachers in 24 DCPS schools from 2016 - 2018. We then used multivariate regression to analyze the relationship between observation scores and teacher value-add (Kane & Staiger, 2012). We are currently working with 120 ELA teachers in Atlanta and Memphis, analyzing two waves of observational data from the fall and spring (N= 800 lessons). We are also collecting “outside-the-rubric” data, including:
Teaching self-efficacy surveys (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998)
Culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy (Siwatu, 2007)
Teacher reading development content knowledge (Carlisle et al., 2009)
TRIPOD student surveys (Ferguson, 2012)
Family engagement surveys (Kraft & Dougherty, 2013)

Results

Teachers in DCPS with highest quintile VAM scores also had the highest average scores on our observational measures, and significantly higher scores than those in the lowest quintile (β=0.873(0.26), p=.003). However, we found student achievement measures limited in the degree of insight provided about many facets of equitable instruction. Preliminary evidence from Atlanta and Memphis suggests different inferences about what teachers provide equitable and effective instruction when triangulated across outcomes beyond student achievement measures. Teachers whose students and families feel most respected and supported are often not the teachers who leverage large improvements on standardized tests.

Significance and Implications

We suggest several shifts to systems that both assess and support equitable literacy instruction. First, teachers need tools that communicate the value of rigorous, evidence-based instructional practices and the importance of honoring students’ unique needs while engaging families as partners. Second, tools must reflect readily measurable reading skills and the more amorphous dispositions and stances we hope to cultivate in literacy classrooms. Finally, we advocate for collecting and analyzing a wider data range to robustly assess processes and outcomes associated with equitable reading instruction.

Author

• Julie Jackson Cohen, University of Virginia