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It鈥檚 been more than since California鈥檚 education system placed a strong emphasis on making sure educators know how to teach children to read. Reading experts and parent advocates say a lack of consistent attention to the issue since then shows.

Thirty-seven percent of the state鈥檚 fourth-graders score below the basic level on , and a shows many districts are struggling to provide strong reading instruction to disadvantaged Latino students 鈥� who make up over 40 percent of the state鈥檚 K-12 population.

Meanwhile other states, such as , have enacted major legislation aimed at improving reading achievement and have seen gains. 

Now, with young readers set by the pandemic, California lawmakers and state officials are trying to catch up and attacking the problem on multiple fronts. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation last month ensuring that prospective teachers learn reading instruction practices backed by research. Another proposed bill would require universal screening for dyslexia. And state Superintendent Tony Thurmond has launched his own literacy agenda, creating a aimed at making sure all third-graders can read by 2026 and pledging to distribute to students. But some wonder whether leaders have thought through all it will take to reduce racial gaps in reading performance.

Stephanie Gregson, deputy executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, a nonprofit working to help low-performing districts improve, is among those saying a piecemeal approach to addressing poor reading performance won鈥檛 work.

鈥淲here鈥檚 the coherence and the coordination of those efforts?鈥� she asked during a recent virtual summit held by the California Reading Coalition, the new organization that released the 鈥渞eport card鈥� ranking 287 districts on the percentage of low-income Latino third-graders meeting or exceeding grade-level reading standards. Gregson added that while this year鈥檚 includes $10 million for literacy training for teachers, 鈥淲e have to think about the context of California. How far will $10 million go?鈥�

Gregson, who began her career as an elementary school teacher in Sacramento and served as a deputy state superintendent until last month, said she was among those who left college unprepared to teach reading to students from homes where English is not the first language.

, now law, would aim to make sure that doesn鈥檛 happen to new teachers entering the field. The legislation requires colleges and universities to meet higher standards for ensuring that new teachers can teach 鈥渇oundational reading skills鈥� and have strategies for supporting English learners. The state鈥檚 Commission on Teacher Credentialing will certify teacher preparation programs, and candidates for elementary and special education teaching positions will have to pass a new literacy assessment, beginning July 2025.

The new assessment replaces an for teachers that many have criticized as outdated and difficult to pass. But that鈥檚 because teacher preparation programs aren鈥檛 doing an adequate job of making sure teachers are well prepared to teach reading, said Lori DePole, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia California, an advocacy group that supports the new law.

鈥淭his bill raises the bar on teacher prep programs to do a better job in preparing 鈥� candidates to teach evidence-based reading instruction,鈥� she said.

In a from the National Council on Teacher Quality, one school in the state 鈥� California State University, Bakersfield 鈥� was among the list of 32 with teacher preparation programs that include all five components of teaching children to read. Those are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. CSU Bakersfield and CSU Dominguez Hills were among the six schools earning A鈥檚 for their graduate programs.

DePole鈥檚 group pushed to make sure the new legislation incorporates for teaching students with dyslexia, a learning disability in which children have difficulty processing speech sounds, and, therefore, can struggle with learning to read, spell and speak. 

The organization wants the state to go even further by joining almost 40 others that require schools to implement early for dyslexia. An estimated 15 percent of the population is affected by dyslexia, which could amount to nearly a million children in California.

鈥淭hey are the canaries in the coal mine,鈥� DePole said. 鈥淲e can target these kids early on so they don鈥檛 have to wait to fail.鈥�

Reading laws are 鈥榚quity laws鈥�

Some argue that Thurmond has waited too long to make early reading achievement a priority. Kymyona Burk, policy director for early literacy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education, said the state has made 鈥渟ome efforts over the years but not with a state-led, comprehensive approach.”

The foundation鈥檚 tracks states鈥� adoption of literacy policies across five areas, including support for teachers, intervention and notifying parents if teachers identify reading problems. California has 鈥渕inimal or no fundamental principles,鈥� according to the analysis, while Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi and North Carolina are among the 12 states with comprehensive K-3 policies.

鈥淚 look at these laws as equity laws,鈥� Burk said during the reading summit. 鈥淪ome of these things are already happening in higher-performing or higher-income schools. They鈥檙e not happening, and they鈥檙e not required to happen, everywhere.鈥�

The state, in fact, settled last year after students sued because of poor literacy skills. The settlement includes $50 million in block grants to 75 low-performing districts.

Burk led work in Mississippi when the state implemented a new reading program that emphasized phonics, ensured teachers were using high-quality curriculum materials and trained both university faculty and classroom teachers. Between 2013 and 2019, Mississippi鈥檚 fourth-graders climbed from 39th in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress to second. And in 2019 鈥� when reading scores for fourth-graders dropped in 17 states 鈥� Mississippi was the only one showing significant improvement. 

鈥淏ecause we鈥檙e California, we kind of snicker at Mississippi, but they did a good plan,鈥� said Barbara Nemko, superintendent of the Napa County Office of Education and a member of Thurmond鈥檚 task force. 鈥漈hey made more progress than anyone.鈥�

Some critics have recently questioned Thurmond鈥檚 leadership throughout the pandemic. The Los Angeles Times that while his push to improve reading is noteworthy, it needs to 鈥渞esult in concrete measures that will bring about real improvement, including a statewide reading curriculum based on a body of real evidence, which might not be popular with all teachers. In other words, Thurmond must take on the tough stuff over the next year.”

At the district level, some leaders view Thurmond鈥檚 goal of getting all third-graders to read by 2026 as a way to win over voters when he faces re-election next year.

鈥淟ike many political statements, the date falls beyond the next election cycle and neglects third-graders in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025,鈥� said Don Austin, superintendent of the Palo Alto Unified School District.  鈥淭he lack of national urgency around this topic is staggering.鈥�

Austin expressed a sense of urgency about his own district鈥檚 performance as well. The low-poverty, well-funded district鈥檚 elementary schools all score in the 鈥渧ery high鈥� range on English language arts in the state鈥檚 . But in the California Reading Coalition鈥檚 report card, Palo Alto ranked near the bottom, with just 1 in 5 low-income Latino third-graders meeting or exceeding grade-level reading standards.

鈥淚 don’t believe we can truly call ourselves the best K-12 school district in California when populations of students are not experiencing the same degree of success,鈥� he said.

The district has since trained teachers in the primary grades in strategies designed to help students with dyslexia and is considering new English language arts curriculum materials.

鈥淲e aren’t chasing a statement from Secretary Thurmond,鈥� Austin said. 鈥淲e identified the issue, put action steps in place, and plan to see what happens if a district can attack an issue with laser focus.鈥�

Thurmond was not available for comment, but a department email said the 鈥渢iming is right鈥� to address reading issues. 鈥淭hanks to support in this year鈥檚 state budget, resources and conditions are in place to make good on a promise of reaching literacy by third grade, a key benchmark in measuring and predicting student success.鈥�  

Nemko said reading, like other issues in education, has been politicized, but that doesn鈥檛 mean the task force can鈥檛 help bring together the different initiatives currently underway. Her office, for example, is one of seven grantees in the state involved in a federally funded to improve literacy from preschool through 12th grade.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to see seven different siloed reports,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is confusing and doesn鈥檛 lead to a good outcome.鈥�

Others want to see a stronger emphasis on ensuring districts have high-quality curriculum options. Chris Ann Horsley, senior director of elementary curriculum for the Bonita Unified School District, near Los Angeles, said she hopes the task force members 鈥減romote the research on successful reading programs and ensure publishers put together curricula using proven methods.”

Her district 鈥� where almost two-thirds of disadvantaged Latino third-graders read at grade level or above 鈥� ranked first in the coalition鈥檚 report card. English learners, she said, receive the same phonics-based literacy instruction as English-speaking students, but bilingual aides work in some classrooms to provide additional support. Along with requiring children to read 20-30 minutes a day outside of school, the method results in most English learners being fluent and proficient in English by second or third grade.

鈥淭he research has supported this 鈥� for years,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut our state has not ensured that adopted reading programs use this approach.鈥�

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