| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) | |||||||||
2 | Teacher Prep Review: Reading Foundations Standard | |||||||||
3 | Program and Course-Specific Findings for University of St. Thomas, Undergraduate Program | |||||||||
4 | About the Standard | |||||||||
5 | Teacher preparation programs must provide elementary teacher candidates with opportunities to gain the content and pedagogical knowledge necessary to effectively teach reading. The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recognizes institutions can follow many paths to provide these opportunities, but ultimately, programs must ensure that candidates attain the essential knowledge and skills of scientifically-based reading instruction. The revised Reading Foundations standard, which was co-constructed with leading reading experts, psychometricians, and teacher preparation program faculty reflects current research on scientifically-based reading instruction and the knowledge and skills needed by teachers. Part one of the standard evaluates programs' attention to the core components of reading, instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Programs are evaluated based on their attention to each of the five components in four Instructional Approaches: Instructional Hours, Background Materials, Objective Measures of Knowledge, and Practice/Application. Part two of the standard evaluates whether programs provide instruction in how to support a range of learners, specifying struggling readers, English language learners, and students who speak language varieties other than mainstream English. Part two is not factored into a program's grade. | |||||||||
6 | Definition of Terms | |||||||||
7 | Core Components | |||||||||
8 | Phonemic awareness | The ability to focus on and manipulate the individual phonemes in spoken words. | ||||||||
9 | Phonics | The relationship between the sound of spoken words and the individual letters or groups of letters representing those sounds in written words. | ||||||||
10 | Fluency | The ability to read a text accurately and quickly while using phrasing and emphasis to make what is read sound like spoken language. | ||||||||
11 | Vocabulary | Knowledge about the meanings, uses, and pronunciation of words. | ||||||||
12 | Comprehension | Constructing meaning that is reasonable and accurate by connecting what has been read to what the reader already knows and thinking about all of this information. | ||||||||
13 | Range of Learners | |||||||||
14 | Struggling readers | This group includes students who are falling behind and having academic difficulties in the area of reading, students at-risk of reading failure if they do not receive appropriate and effective instruction and intervention, and students with diagnosed or undiagnosed dyslexia, word reading difficulties, or language comprehension difficulties. | ||||||||
15 | English language learners | This group includes students who are in the process of acquiring English and who have a first language other than English. | ||||||||
16 | Students who speak language varieties other than mainstream English | This group includes students who speak variations of English including African American English (AAE), African American Vernacular English (AAVE), and home or community languages. Often this is referred to as dialects. | ||||||||
17 | Instructional Approaches | |||||||||
18 | Instructional Hours | Course time dedicated on how to teach or assess a component; or on how to teach or assess knowledge of a learner group. | ||||||||
19 | Background Materials | Textbooks, articles, videos, or other materials identified in a "required readings" section of a syllabus and intended to teach about a component or learner group. | ||||||||
20 | Objective Measures of Knowledge | Includes tests, quizzes, and graded written assignments focused on a component or learner group. | ||||||||
21 | Practice/Application | Practice providing instruction, in a simulated or real classroom setting, or practice administering an assessment about a component or learner group. | ||||||||
22 | Scoring Rubrics | |||||||||
23 | Part one: Core components | Part two: Supporting a range of learners | ||||||||
24 | Points Possible | Points Possible | ||||||||
25 | Instructional Approach | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Instructional Approach | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
26 | Instructional Hours | Number of hours summed across courses divided by the instructional hours target times three points (capped at three points). | Instructional Hours | Point value is equal to the sum of instructional hours across courses, capped at 2. (Note: This means programs with a score of 2 have at least 2 instructional hours on how to teach or assess the learner group.) | ||||||
27 | Background Materials | Unacceptable materials earn a 0; acceptable materials earn a 3. All materials on a component are averaged within a course and then across courses. | Background Materials | Average quality of background materials. Unacceptable materials earn a 0; acceptable materials earn a 2. All materials on a learner group are averaged within a course and then averaged across courses. | ||||||
28 | Objective Measures of Knowledge | No tests/quizzes AND no graded written assignments (summed across courses). | Part of one graded written assignment (summed across courses). | One graded written assignment (summed across courses). | At least one test/quiz OR more than one graded written assignment (summed across courses). | Objective Measures of Knowledge | No tests/quizzes AND no graded written assignments (summed across courses). | Part of one graded written assignment (summed across courses). | At least one test/quiz OR at least one graded written assignment (summed across courses). | |
29 | Practice/Application | No practice opportunities (summed across courses). | Less than one practice opportunity (summed across courses). | Only one full practice opportunity (summed across courses). | More than one practice opportunity (summed across courses). | Practice/Application | No practice/application sessions (summed across courses). | Part of one practice/application session (summed across courses). | One full practice session (summed across courses). | |
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31 | Instructional Hours Targets | Grading Rules Program receives eight or more points for... | ||||||||
32 | Component | Target | A+ | Programs earn an A, meet a higher point threshold for each component (an average of 10 points across components), and teach no practices contrary to the science of reading. | ||||||
33 | Phonics | 8 hours | A | All five of the five core components of scientifically based reading instruction, and do not teach more than three practices contrary to the science of reading. | ||||||
34 | Phonemic Awareness | 7 hours | B | Four of the five core components of scientifically based reading instruction OR all five core components but teach four or more practices contrary to the science of reading. | ||||||
35 | Fluency | 4 hours | C | Three of the five core components of scientifically based reading instruction OR four core components but teach four or more practices contrary to the science of reading. | ||||||
36 | Vocabulary | 6 hours | D | Two of the five core components of scientifically based reading instruction OR three core components but teach four or more practices contrary to the science of reading. | ||||||
37 | Comprehension | 9 hours | F | One or none of the five core components of scientifically based reading instruction OR two core components but teach four or more practices contrary to the science of reading. | ||||||
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39 | More info on "null" designation for textbooks | |||||||||
40 | A "null" designation indicates one of the following: | |||||||||
41 | If the background material is determined to be "Core" (intended to address all topics), and is found to include contrary content, the book is designated as "Unacceptable." When this is the case, the following rules apply: "Unacceptable" components earn 0 points and "Acceptable" components are treated as "null" (don't help or hurt the program's textbook score for the component). | |||||||||
42 | If the background material is determined to be "Supplementary" (not intended to address all topics) and all of the components that are covered are "Acceptable," then "null" is used for the topics not addressed. | |||||||||
43 | If the background material is determined to be "Supplementary" (not intended to address all topics) and at least one components that is covered is "Unacceptable," then "null" is used for the topics not addressed and those that are "Acceptable" | |||||||||
44 | If the background material is determined to be a "Synopsis" (addresses one or more of the components, but only at a high level), then "null" is universally used. | |||||||||
45 | If the background material is determined to be "Not Relevant" (required material is unrelated to reading instruction), then "null" is universally used. | |||||||||
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47 | For more information, see the full methodology for the Reading Foundations standard in the Technical Report: https://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Teacher_Prep_Review_Reading_Foundations_Technical_Report Please contact Shannon Holston, NCTQ Chief of Policy and Programs at shannon.holston@nctq.org with any questions or concerns. | |||||||||
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