Getting Specific About Literacy Policy: The Importance of Including Identity in Literacy Legislation and Interventions

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 3:35 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Beyond the Numbers: Understanding Certification, Identity, and Inclusion in Educational Policy (Table 10)

Abstract

States and territories are rapidly passing reading laws, many of which are meant to increase student outcomes using evidence-based reading strategies (Schwartz, 2024). These broad laws are meant to be applicable statewide and often lack specificity around who interventions are meant to serve and how they should be measured. Using data from the Colorado READ Act and a national policy review, we find that students are not equally served by interventions and that few laws require data or intervention disaggregation to examine effectiveness for different student groups. We suggest that for all students to benefit from legislative efforts, all student intersectional identities, particularly those from historically and currently underserved communities, should be considered in legislated analysis, interventions, and implementation guidance.

Authors

• Amanda Nabors, WestEd

• Aaron Soo Ping Chow, WestEd

• Nandi Carson, University of Maryland