The Effects of Early Literacy Policies on Student Achievement

• In Event: Infrastructure for Accountability Policy and Practice

Abstract

By 2021, 42 states adopted early literacy policies to improve literacy by the end of third grade. We examine the impacts of these policies on high- and low-stakes test scores using an event-study approach and find that adopting an early literacy policy improves elementary reading achievement on high-stakes tests. The largest gains occur in third grade and in states with comprehensive policies, particularly those with third-grade retention. Furthermore, we find suggestive evidence that early literacy policies reduce socioeconomic and racial test-score gaps in reading. We find little evidence of gains in low-stakes test scores. Our results suggest that early literacy policies improve achievement on high-stakes tests but may not improve literacy learning.

Authors

• John Westall, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Amy Cummings, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author