Special Education Preparation in Reading:
District of Columbia
Delivering Well Prepared Teachers Policy
Analysis of District of Columbia's policies
The District of Columbia does not require its special education teachers who teach the elementary grades to pass a rigorous test of reading instruction, nor does it require teacher preparation programs to prepare special education candidates in the principles of scientifically based reading instruction. The District has neither coursework requirements nor standards related to this critical area.
The District's preparation and licensure requirements for special education teachers are not aligned with its college- and career-readiness
standards for students. The District does not require content testing, and teacher standards do not
address informational texts or the incorporation of literacy skills into the core content areas. The District has no requirements for the preparation of elementary or secondary special education teachers that address struggling readers.
Recommendations for District of Columbia
Require all special education teacher candidates who teach the elementary grades to pass a rigorous assessment in the science of
reading instruction.
The District of Columbia should require a
rigorous reading assessment tool to ensure that its elementary special
education teacher candidates are adequately prepared in the science of
reading instruction before entering the classroom. The assessment should
clearly test knowledge and skills related to the science of reading and
address all five instructional components of scientifically based
reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary
and comprehension. If the test is combined with an assessment that also
tests general pedagogy or elementary content, it should report a
subscore for the science of reading specifically. Elementary special
education teachers who do not possess the minimum knowledge in this area
should not be eligible for licensure.
Ensure that teacher preparation programs prepare elementary teaching candidates in the science of reading instruction.
The District of Columbia should require its teacher preparation program in the state to train special education candidates in scientifically based reading instruction.
Ensure that new special education teachers are prepared to incorporate informational text of increasing complexity into classroom
instruction.
Either
through testing frameworks or teacher standards, the District of
Columbia should specifically address the instructional shifts toward
building content knowledge and vocabulary through increasingly complex
informational texts and careful reading of informational and literary
texts associated with the District's college- and career-readiness
standards for students.
Ensure that new special education teachers are prepared to incorporate literacy skills as an integral part of every subject.
To
ensure that special education students are capable of accessing varied
information about the world around them, the District of Columbia should
also include specific requirements regarding literacy skills and using
text as a means to build content knowledge in history/social studies,
science, technical subjects and the arts.
Support struggling readers.
The District of
Columbia should articulate requirements ensuring that all special
education teachers are prepared to intervene and support students who
are struggling with reading. With reading difficulties generally
representing the primary reason for special education placements, it is
essential that all special education teachers have the knowledge and
skills to diagnose and support students with literacy needs.
State response to our analysis
The District of Columbia recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.
-
District of Columbia
Select another topic
Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Early Childhood
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science and Social Studies
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Special Education Preparation in Reading
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Pensions
Research rationale
Reading science has identified five components of effective instruction.
Teaching children to read is the most important task teachers undertake. Over the past 60 years, scientists from many fields have worked to determine how people learn to read and why some struggle. This science of reading has led to breakthroughs that can dramatically reduce the number of children destined to become functionally illiterate or barely literate adults. By routinely applying in the classroom the lessons learned from the scientific findings, most reading failure can be avoided. Estimates indicate that the current failure rate of 20 to 30 percent could be reduced to 2 to 10 percent.
Scientific research has shown that there are five essential components of effective reading instruction: explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Many states' policies still do not reflect the strong research consensus in reading instruction that has emerged over the last few decades. Many teacher preparation programs resist teaching scientifically based reading instruction. NCTQ's reports on teacher preparation, beginning with What Education Schools Aren't Teaching about Reading and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning in 2006 and continuing through the Teacher Prep Review in 2013 and 2014, have consistently found the overwhelming majority of teacher preparation programs across the country do not train teachers in the science of reading. Whether through standards or coursework requirements, states must direct programs to provide this critical training. But relying on programs alone is insufficient; states must only grant a license to new special education elementary teachers who can demonstrate they have the knowledge and skills to teach children to read.
Effective early reading instruction is especially important for teachers of special education students.
By far, the largest classification of students receiving special education services are those with learning disabilities. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, it is estimated that reading disabilities account for about 80 percent of learning disabilities. While early childhood and elementary teachers must know the reading science to prevent reading difficulties, special education teachers, and especially elementary special education teachers, must know how to support students who have already fallen behind and struggle with reading and literacy skills. That some states actually require less from special education teachers in terms of preparation to teach reading than they require from general education teachers is baffling and deeply worrisome.
College- and career-readiness standards require significant shifts in literacy instruction.
College- and career-readiness standards for K-12 students adopted by nearly all states require from a teachers a different focus on literacy integrated into all subject areas. The standards demand that teachers are prepared to bring complex text and academic language into regular use, emphasize the use of evidence from informational and literary texts and build knowledge and vocabulary through content-rich text. While most states have not ignored teachers' need for training and professional development related to these instructional shifts, few states have attended to the parallel need to align teacher competencies and requirements for teacher preparation so that new teachers will enter the classroom ready to help students meet the expectations of these standards. For special education teachers, preparation and training must focus on managing these instructional shifts while also helping students who may have serious reading deficiencies.
Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction: Supporting Research
For evidence on what new teachers are not learning about reading instruction, see NCTQ, "What Education Schools Aren't Teaching About Reading and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning" 2006) at:http://www.nctq.org/nctq/images/nctq_reading_study_app.pdf.
For problems with existing reading tests, see S. Stotsky, "Why American Students Do Not Learn to Read Very Well: The Unintended Consequences of Title II and Teacher Testing," Third Education Group Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2006; and D. W. Rigden, Report on Licensure Alignment with the Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction (Washington, D.C.: Reading First Teacher Education Network, 2006).
For information on where states set passing scores on elementary level content tests for teacher licensing across the U.S., see chart on p. 13 of NCTQ "Recommendations for the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Removing the Roadblocks: How Federal Policy Can Cultivate Effective Teachers," (2011).
For an extensive summary of the research base supporting the instructional shifts associated with college- and career-readiness standards, see "Research Supporting the Common Core ELA Literacy Shifts and Standards" available from Student Achievement Partners.