State Policies Aimed to Improve K-3 Quality

Education Commission of the States (ECS) just released an update to its compilation of state policies focused on kindergarten through third grade which presents 21 indicators of K-3 quality. The report provides a window into the myriad state policies created to support students through the critical early years of education.

Over the past several decades, great emphasis has been placed on third grade reading scores as an early measure of learning success and a predictor of academic achievement to come. In an effort to identify and better support students struggling with reading, 29 states require third grade students be retained for failing to pass a reading assessment. Most experts agree, however, that identifying and offering interventions to struggling readers must happen long before third grade and that efforts must be ongoing.

According to ECS, 44 states require schools to offer support to struggling readers, yet the specificity included in each policy varies dramatically across states, as does the grade levels served. Maine, for example, requires that “interventions include specialized instruction and progress monitoring,” while Oklahoma recommends interventions that include additional instructional time, after school tutoring, and summer school programs.  In four states, interventions are not required until third grade.

When it comes down to it, the most important in-school factor affecting student reading success is the teacher. Too often, elementary schools rely on a few reading specialists, charged with supporting struggling readers across grade-levels, when in reality, students need consistent access to classroom teachers with the skills to support early reading development.

Thirty-six states require reading instruction to be included in elementary teacher preparation. While some policies offer little more than a nod towards the need for meaningful training in reading, such as Texas’ requirements that “candidates seeking initial certification take courses in reading instruction,” others like South Carolina are more prescriptive. In South Carolina, early childhood and elementary school teacher candidates must complete twelve credit hours of training that includes a school-based practicum and ensures that “candidates grasp the theory, research, and practices that support and guide the teaching of reading, specifically developing skills in diagnosing a child's reading problems and are capable of providing an effective intervention.” Nineteen states also require the inclusion of reading instruction in professional development.

As of 2015, 14 states had also passed policies requiring teacher candidates to demonstrate, via standardized assessment, some level of understanding of reading instruction. The assessments focused on the science of teaching reading, not a subtest of a general education assessment.

Despite the importance of reading, we also know that student success does not come down to one single component of his or her education. No specific skill, no individual teacher, no single grade level, can alone provide students with the foundation needed for future academic and professional success. That is why each of the 21 indicators identified by ECS is important.

Additional indicators include the transition to kindergarten – a major life event for a five year old. Twenty-one states emphasize the need to have plans in place to help students make the transition.   Just 15 states require districts to offer full-day kindergarten. A child attending kindergarten in one of those states will have dramatically more time to develop essential social/emotional, behavioral and academic skills than a child in a state either requiring only a half-day program (26 states), or none at all (8 states).

Education Commission of the States breaks state policies down into six categories that include:

• Kindergarten requirements

• Teacher quality

• School readiness and transitions

• Assessment, retention and intervention

• Family engagement

• Social-emotional learning

As you digest the data, I encourage you to remember that what is happening at the local level is not always reflected in state policy.  We know, for example, that more districts offer full-day kindergarten than are required by law. There are also many innovative school- and district-level leaders providing professional development for teachers and unique learning environments for students. With that said, strong state policies can drive important change at the local level and it is important that state leaders continue to be advocates for ensuring a strong K-3 learning continuum exists in every school and district.