New standard for teacher accreditation focuses on literacy skills
A significant element in improving literacy rates among children and teens in California has been updating the accreditation standards for teacher preparation to give more focus to literacy.
These recent changes were mandated by SB 488, a 2021 bill that required the creation of new literacy standards for teacher preparation programs, as well as a new Literacy Performance Assessment, based on the science of reading, learning, and development and the California Dyslexia Guidelines.
The new accreditation standards were adopted by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) in 2022. In order to make sure they were being properly developed and implemented, the CTC hired Nancy Brynelson as a consultant.
“The Sacramento County READS Initiative has really been designed to galvanize community support for school districts and communities to promote literacy success. It’s really a companion piece to all the efforts that school districts are making, as well as the county office.”
Nancy Brynelson, Co-director of Statewide Literacy, California Department of Education
Brynelson now serves as Co-Director of Statewide Literacy for the California Department of Education and was one of the authors of the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework adopted by the State Board of Education in 2014. The ELA/ELD Framework is a guide for teachers that shows how to teach reading, writing, speaking, and listening while helping English learners grow in both language and literacy. Its purpose is to make sure all students get the skills they need to succeed in school and life.This framework is organized by the general themes of meaning making; language development; content knowledge; effective expression; and foundational skills.
Nancy Brynelson, Co-director of Statewide Literacy, California Department of Education
“My responsibilities at CTC were to convene a literacy work group to develop standard seven, called ‘effective literacy instruction,’ for all students,” Brynelson says. “The decision was made to add a standard specific to literacy, where before what they had was basically a catch all standard for all subject areas.”
This new standard implements the themes of the 2015 framework, with a specific focus on foundational skills. In the context of the ELA/ELD Framework, foundational skills refer to the essential building blocks of literacy—such as print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, word recognition, and fluency—that enable students to read, write, and engage meaningfully with complex texts. They are critical because they ensure students have the tools to access higher-level learning and thrive across all subject areas. Brynelson notes that one of the big focuses of the new literacy standards is making sure that all the themes are addressed.
“All of these areas have been included in our framework for many years,” Brynelson says. “But there has been uneven implementation of the full range of these five themes.”
The new literacy standard makes sure these themes are being followed consistently by creating new programs for multiple subject teaching, single subject English teaching, education specialists and PK-3 (preschool, transitional kindergarten, and kindergarten through third grade) early childhood specialist credentials. Brynelson says these new programs make it much clearer what teachers need to know before they start in the classroom.
“There are teaching performance expectations, and those are specific things that the candidates have to show that they know and can do,” Brynelson says. “In addition to literacy, those range from engaging and supporting students to maintaining effective learning environments.”
Brynelson says that an important element in successfully implementing these changes is the participation of school leadership. While she says her experience in this regard has varied, Brynelson notes the Sacramento County Office of Education has consistently been very involved in implementing literacy standards and programs.
“What I’m heartened by is that at the superintendent level, at the assistant superintendent level, the director level of the district office and as well as site principals, literacy is being taken much more seriously,” Brynelson says.
She points to the Sacramento County READS Initiative as a prime example of this, noting that it perfectly aligns with the overall literacy efforts happening across the state.
“The Sacramento County READS Initiative has really been designed to galvanize community support for school districts and communities to promote literacy success,” Brynelson says. “It’s really a companion piece to all the efforts that school districts are making, as well as the county office.”
While many of these changes are in various stages of being implemented, Brynelson is optimistic about them being an overall positive change to how literacy is taught in California.
“The new teacher candidates are reporting that the new Literacy Performance Assessment really helped them become better prepared to teach reading, writing, speaking and listening when they get their first job,” Brynelson says. “It is all very exciting.”
To learn more about the current standards for Literary and Reading Instruction implemented by the Commission on Teaching Credentialing, visit www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/literacy-and-reading-instruction. To learn more about the Sacramento County READS Literacy Initiative, visit scoe.net/divisions/ed_services/sacramentocountyreads/.
