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Effectiveness of Early Literacy Policies: Evidence from Four States

Friday, November 14, 3:30 to 5:00pm, Property: Grand Hyatt Seattle, Floor: 1st Floor/Lobby Level, Room: Princess 1

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

More than 40 percent of fourth graders in the United States struggle substantially with reading  (NAEP Reading, 2024). These low reading test scores are strong predictors of high school test scores (Sparks et al., 2014) and high school graduation rates (Hernandez, 2011), which in turn predict college enrollment, college completion, and income. 


Forty states and the District of Columbia have passed new literacy legislation since 2013 (Schwartz, 2024). Though these laws are often based on the same evidence-based practices of reading instruction (i.e, “the science of reading”), these laws have varied widely in their design. In this panel, we examine the successes and challenges of four states as they have implemented these reforms. 


Josep M. Nadal Fernandez and co-authors from Michigan State University use data from the Stanford Education Data Archive to examine the results of Michigan’s early literacy overhaul, including its requirement that students performing below grade level be retained in third grade. The authors document that this law led to an increase in third-grade standardized test scores of 0.09 standard deviations that declined in later grades. 


Most early literacy policies passed in the last two decades do not include retention and instead are based around curriculum or professional development (ExcelInEd, 2024). Alexander Bolves from Harvard University explores the effects of a Rhode Island policy in which the state mandated adoption of an approved list of curricular materials in English and math. All approved English materials included a substantial emphasis on the science of reading. He finds that the policy improved math achievement but not English achievement. 


Other papers in this panel examine professional development as a strategy. Sarah Novicoff from the Public Policy Institute of California examines a California early literacy policy in which targeted high-need schools received funds and professional development to improve their instruction. She finds this policy improved reading test scores by 0.05 standard deviations in third grade and documents that schools mostly used the funds to hire literacy coaches. 


Alberto Ortega from the University of Indiana studies a similar early literacy grant policy from Texas in which schools with low reading test scores received funds to improve instruction through professional development. Because this policy took place in the early 2000s, Ortega can follow more cohorts and finds that the third-grade test score improvement persists for eight cohorts but does not persist into the following grade. 


These four papers will be discussed by Marcus Winters of Boston University, whose research on grade retention and early literacy policy in Florida informed the recent wave of reform. Papers will also be discussed by Zachary LeClair from the Research and Evaluation team in Seattle Public Schools, a school district that has recently shifted towards the science of reading despite the state of Washington’s resistance to the curricular shift. These discussants will help nuance the presentations, adding their experiences from two additional states and from the policymaker lens. Together, this panel illuminates both the potential of literacy legislation and the many considerations needed to make it successful.  

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