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NCTE Principles of Adolescent Literacy Reform

A Policy Research Brief

Produced by The National Council of Teachers of English

April 2006

The James R. Squire Offi ce for Policy Research The National Council of Teachers of English

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PREFACE

ver 8 million students in grades 4–12 involved, or deeply embedded ideas, highly so- read below grade level, and 3,000 phisticated information, elaborate or unconven- Ostudents with limited literacy skills tional structure, intricate style, context-depen- drop out of high school every school day. While dent vocabulary, and implicit purposes, complex the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 triggered texts appear frequently in college and the work- highly publicized reports on low levels of place (ACT, 2006). The challenges posed by reading achievement in America’s elementary signifi cant numbers of under-literate middle and schools, middle and high school students face high school students who lack the skills neces- different but no less important literacy challeng- sary to function successfully in today’s world are es. Economic, social, moral, and political forces as daunting as they are signifi cant. all point to the critical role literacy plays in our The National Council of Teachers of English national culture and economy. Schools repre- (NCTE), the professional association represent- sent the most powerful and pervasive means of ing over 50,000 English/language arts teachers, introducing the next generation into a culture brings valuable insights and resources to this of literacy. Traditionally, educators have fo- important issue. With its rich store of research- cused on the development of literacy in the early based materials and its capacity to provide rigor- grades, assuming that older students did not need ous and systematic professional development special instruction. Recently, however, it has and literacy coaching for middle and high school become clear that many middle and high school teachers, NCTE is uniquely positioned to take students are increasingly under-literate, lacking a leadership role in a national effort to improve the complex literacy skills they will need to be the literacy capacities of adolescents. This successful in an information-driven economy. A document delineates the problems of adolescent recent report by ACT shows that only about half literacy and outlines reforms NCTE has identi- of our nation’s high school students are able to fi ed as necessary to address them. read complex texts. Defi ned in terms of subtle,

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section I Overview of Adolescent Literacy 4 Introduction: A Growing Under-Literate Class 4 What is Adolescent Literacy? 5 What Strategies Foster Adolescent Literacy? 6 Meeting the Challenge 7

Section II Professional Development: The Route to Reform 8 The Importance of Teacher Quality 8 Centrality of Professional Development 8 High Quality Professional Development 9 Professional Development and Student Achievement 11

Section III Professional Development to Improve Adolescent Literacy 12 Professional Communities in Secondary Schools 12 Interdisciplinary Collaboration 13 Literacy Coaching 14

Conclusion 16

Works Cited 17

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SECTION I OVERVIEW OF ADOLESCENT LITERACY

Introduction: more complicated. The U.S. economy depends A Growing Under-Literate Class upon developing new generations of workers who are competent and confi dent practitioners The problems of adolescent literacy echo through of complex and varied forms of literacy. Reading several recent reports. complex texts requires ability to discern deeply • The American Institutes for Research (AIR) embedded ideas, comprehend highly sophisti- reports that only 13% of American adults are cated information, negotiate elaborate structures capable of performing complex literacy tasks. and intricate style, understand context-dependent • The National Assessment of Educational vocabulary, and recognize implicit purposes. Progress (NAEP) shows that secondary Both higher education and the workplace present school students are reading signifi cantly be- readers with complex texts. Without a highly low expected levels. literate pool of job applicants, employers are forced to look off-shore for well-trained and The National Assessment of Adult Literacy • highly literate workers from other countries. In (NAAL) fi nds that literacy scores of high other words, our nation cannot afford an under- school graduates have dropped between 1992 literate workforce. and 2003. • The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) reports a continuing and signifi cant Our nation reading achievement gap between certain cannot afford an racial/ethnic/SES groups. under-literate • The Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) points to 8.7 million secondary school stu- workforce. dents—that is one in four—who are unable to read and comprehend the material in their At a time when the United States is fostering textbooks. democracy in other parts of the world, thousands • The 2005 ACT College Readiness Benchmark of American students are unable to use written for Reading found that only about half the information to make informed decisions. When students tested were ready for college-level these under-literate students leave school, they reading, and the 2005 scores were the lowest are not prepared to participate effectively in a in a decade. democratic society. The powerful growth of Meanwhile, our knowledge-based society the Internet and increased reliance on electronic and information-driven economy increasingly communication—where complex literacy skills demand a more highly literate population. In are essential—requires enhanced capacities of the 21st century United States, it is not enough all who seek social and intellectual resources. to be able to read and write—the literacy de- The moral imperatives that led the United States mands of the global marketplace have grown to establish public schools during the early days

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of nationhood remain: schooling must produce citizens suffi ciently skilled in literacy to help iteracy is not a technical foster the greater good within our nation and in L the world beyond. skill acquired once and for all in the primary grades. What is Adolescent Literacy?

For adolescents, literacy is more than reading and writing. It involves purposeful social and comprehension scores, write longer paragraphs, cognitive processes. It helps individuals discov- and identify more features of purpose and audi- er ideas and make meaning. It enables functions ence in reading selections ( Hobbs & Frost, such as analysis, synthesis, organization, and 2003). Moreover, literacy is not a technical skill evaluation. It fosters the expression of ideas and acquired once and for all in the primary grades. opinions and extends to understanding how texts Rather, students develop it over many years, and are created and how meanings are conveyed by that development continues well into adoles- various media, brought together in productive cence and beyond. ways. This complex view of literacy builds upon Adolescents bring many literacy resources but extends beyond defi nitions of literacy that to middle school and high school, but they face focus on features like phonemic awareness and several challenges. The academic discourses word recognition. and disciplinary concepts in such fi elds as sci- Literacy skills come into play in many ways ence, mathematics, and the social studies entail for all adolescents and adults, encompassing a new forms, purposes, and processing demands broad range of domains. These include: that pose diffi culties for some adolescents. They • analyzing arguments need teachers to show them how literacy oper- • comparing editorial viewpoints ates within academic disciplines. In particular, adolescents need instruction that integrates • decoding nutrition information on food literacy skills into each school discipline so they packaging can learn from the texts they read. Adolescents • assembling furniture also need instruction that links their personal • taking doses of medicine correctly experiences and their texts, making connections between students’ existing literacy resources • determining whether to vote for a state and the ones necessary for various disciplines amendment (Alvermann & Moore, 1991). When instruction • interpreting medical tables does not address adolescents’ literacy needs, • identifying locations on a map motivation and engagement are diminished. Motivation is the factor that leads students to • fi nding information online read or not, and engagement means choosing Literacy enables learning in a variety of dis- to read when faced with other options (Guthrie ciplines in complex and important ways. Re- and Wigfi eld, 2000). Without a curriculum that search shows, for example, that a media-literacy fosters qualities of motivation and engagement, curriculum can lead students to read with higher adolescents risk becoming under-literate.

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What Strategies Foster Comprehension Adolescent Literacy? Many students leave elementary school able to decode language without fully understand- Research offers many effective strategies that ing what it says. Reform in adolescent literacy promote and increase adolescent literacy. Re- instruction must include attention to students’ forming programs of adolescent literacy de- ability to comprehend what they read. Fortu- mands strategies that target motivation, compre- nately, research-based strategies are available to hension, and critical thinking. support such learning.

Motivation • Vocabulary Development: Reading, writing, speaking, and listening can all contribute to The question of motivation presents one of the vocabulary development. Since each disci- most perplexing issues of adolescent literacy. pline has its own vocabulary, students need Many students who are able to read and write both direct and indirect instruction to actively choose not to, rendering many forms of instruc- learn new words (Dole, Sloan, and Trathern, tion ineffectual. Furthermore, as this behavior 1995.) becomes ingrained, students can become less likely to become engaged with literacy practices. • Discussion-based Approaches: Making Research shows, however, ways to increase stu- meaning from texts is crucial to reading com- dent motivation toward literacy. prehension, and focused discussions about academic texts can help students learn to read • Strategy Instruction: Teaching students to better at the same time that they learn more monitor their own literacy practices, to look about a specifi c fi eld. (Applebee et al., 2003). for information, to interpret literature, and to Strategies like reciprocal teaching, question draw on their own prior knowledge enhances generating, and summarizing can foster dis- motivation (Guthrie et al., 1996). cussions. • Diverse Texts: Sustained experience with diverse texts in a variety of genres that offer Critical Thinking multiple perspectives on life experiences can Effective literacy education leads students to enhance motivation, particularly if texts in- think deeply about texts and use them to gener- clude electronic and visual media (Greenleaf ate ideas and knowledge. Students can be taught et al., 2001). to think about their own thinking, to understand • Self-selection of Texts: Many texts must be how texts are organized, to consider relationships read in common by an entire class, as the cur- between texts, and to comprehend complexities. riculum dictates, but allowing some discre- • Self-monitoring: Focused instruction can tion for students to choose their own texts teach students how to consider their own increases motivation, especially because these understandings of a text and learn how to pro- selections can help students make connec- ceed when their understanding fails (Bereiter tions between texts and their own worlds. and Bird, 1985). Of course, reading self-selected texts also • Interpretation and Analysis: A successful increases reading fl uency, or the ability to program of literacy education enables stu- read quickly and accurately (Alvermann, et dents to dissect, deconstruct, and re-construct al., 2000; Moje et al., 2000). texts as they engage in meaning making (Newmann, King, & Rigdon, 1997).

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• Multi-disciplinary: Critical thinking takes be described as summative rather than forma- slightly different form in each discipline, and tive. When prepared and graded by a teacher effective instruction for adolescent literacy as part of ongoing instruction, formal assess- helps students develop capacities for critical ment can provide useful insights into student thinking in each discipline (Greenleaf et al., learning (Darling-Hammond et al., 1995). 2001). • Technology: Many adolescents are drawn Meeting the Challenge to technology, and incorporating technology into instruction can increase motivation at the Reform designed to improve adolescent literacy same time that it enhances adolescent literacy through increased motivation, comprehension, by fostering student engagement (Merchant, critical thinking, and classroom-based assess- 2001). ment must contribute to measurable gains in stu- dent achievement. Instruction that foregrounds Assessment instructional experiences like these will require Assessment is often seen as external to instruc- substantial reform, both in teaching practices tion, but it is an essential part of teaching. Both and in the school infrastructures in which they teachers and students benefi t from multiple are enacted. Teachers possess the greatest ca- forms of evaluation. While high-stakes tests pacity to positively affect student achievement, rarely provide feedback that has instructional and a growing body of research shows that the value, other forms of assessment can foster professional development of teachers holds the literacy development in adolescents. greatest potential to improve adolescent literacy • Ongoing Formative Assessment: Assessment achievement. In fact, research indicates that that provides regular feedback about student for every $500 directed toward various school learning has benefi ts for students and teach- improvement initiatives, those funds directed ers. It can enhance motivation as well as toward professional development resulted in the achievement among students. Teachers who greatest student gains on standardized achieve- receive daily or weekly information about ment tests (Greenwald et al., 1996). student development can intervene effectively (Biancarosa and Snow, 2004). • Informal Assessment: Assessment need not Research indicates that be an onerous task for teachers since there are for every $500 directed many ways to evaluate student achievement toward various school informally. Brief responses to a student jour- improvement initiatives, nal, students’ written summaries of learning at the end of class, or a student-teacher confer- those funds directed ence are examples of informal assessment that toward professional does not require a grade but provides forma- development resulted tive evaluation of student achievement. in the greatest student • Formal Assessment: The test at the end of gains on standardized a unit or the paper written in response to a achievement tests. multi-week assignment are examples of for- mal assessment that is usually graded and can

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SECTION II PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE ROUTE TO REFORM

The Importance of Teacher eracy within their content area (Phillips, 2002). Quality Ironically, many secondary school teachers resist the work of reading specialists in their schools Former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige (Darwin, 2002). recognized the value of well-prepared teach- ers: “We know that being a highly qualifi ed teacher matters because the academic achieve- Many content-area ment levels of students who are taught by good teachers describe teachers increase at greater rates than the levels themselves as not of those who are taught by other teachers” (U.S. prepared to teach Department of Education 2003). In making such claims, Paige drew upon research that literacy within their documents how well-prepared teachers raise content area. the achievement of all students, not just those who were already doing well (Babu and Medro, 2003; Sanders and Rivers, 1996). Centrality of Professional The term “highly-qualifi ed teacher,” used by Development Paige and many others, entered the language of education with the No Child Left Behind Act Because middle and high school teachers who of 2001. According to NCLB, highly-qualifi ed are highly qualifi ed in some ways can lack fun- teachers have a BA degree, full state certifi ca- damental knowledge about literacy development, tion, and knowledge of the subject(s) they teach. professional development must be at the center Teachers can demonstrate subject-matter knowl- of any reform effort that seeks broad improve- edge with a major—or credits equivalent to a ment in adolescent literacy. Without additional major—in the subject they teach, a passing grade training, teachers at the secondary level remain in a state test, or a graduate degree. largely unable to take up the task of enhancing For teachers in middle and high schools, how- adolescent literacy. Given the demonstrated im- ever, literacy is not, for the most part, an area of pact of professional development upon student expertise. Those who can be described as highly achievement, investing in professional develop- qualifi ed in math, social studies, English, or ment is both the most cost-effective and system- science rarely have any signifi cant training in lit- atic way to address the challenges of adolescent eracy instruction. Traditionally teacher prepara- literacy at the national level (Greenwald et al., tion programs include little (if any) course work 1996). in literacy, so it is possible for teachers to be The quality of professional development is, of identifi ed as highly-qualifi ed even though they course, a key concern. All professional devel- were not prepared to address the challenges of opment is not created equal, and much of what adolescent literacy. Many content-area teachers is described as professional development is not describe themselves as not prepared to teach lit- sustained or in-depth enough to foster signifi cant

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and lasting teacher learning. Because research Unfortunately much professional devel- shows that student achievement depends upon opment is concentrated at the level of “fi rst teachers learning from professional develop- exposure” and comes in the form of a single ment, it is important for high quality profes- workshop or presentation on a given teaching sional development in adolescent literacy to be strategy. “Deep learning,” by contrast, involves the standard (Pang and Kamil, 2003). extended engagement with new ideas and strate- gies, such as reading and discussing a text or High Quality Professional participating in a demonstration. At the “fi rst Development exposure” stage, teachers can be described as having knowledge about a given approach but Research on professional development has limited capacity to implement it. By contrast, focused on both teacher learning and student when teachers are able to practice approaches learning. Like all learning, teacher learning with support from a mentor or coach who can occurs over time, and the diagram below shows offer suggestions and encouragement, they are how effective professional development moves able to implement newly-acquired strategies teachers, over time, from little or no knowledge effectively. After teachers have had opportuni- to expertise. ties for supported practice, they then engage in refi ned and expanded learning, which is charac- Multiple Stages of Professional terized by a comfortable incorporation of new Development Learning approaches into regular classroom practices. Professional development reaches its ultimate stage when teachers feel comfortable supporting others in learning a new approach. Time is not, of course, the only important feature of professional development. The re- mainder of this section will discuss other aspects of all effective professional development. The next section will consider features specifi c to professional development focused on adolescent literacy.

Involvement and Commitment of all Stakeholders Teachers and staff who will take part in or who are affected by a program of professional development should be part of the planning process, particularly as fundamental decisions are being made. Teacher knowledge about students can help make needs clear—in a needs assessment, for instance—and faculties who are involved in planning professional development are much more likely to “buy into” the content of the ensuing program. Rather than bringing

Adapted from Robert B. Cooter’s capacity-building model capacity-building Cooter’s Adapted from Robert B. 2004). (Cooter, an outside expert to deliver strategies that will

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then be implemented by individual teachers shows that teachers who engage in collabora- in the privacy of their own classrooms, teach- tive professional development feel confi dent and ers and administrators should work together to well prepared to meet the demands of teaching determine needs, decide on a course of action, (Holloway, 2003). Furthermore, teachers who and implement development plans (Gusky and refl ect on their own work engender high-achiev- Huberman, 1995). ing students (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995). Connection with Local Instruction To have signifi cant impact, professional develop- Evaluation ment should link to other parts of the instruc- Evaluation should be part of the plan for all pro- tional infrastructure in a given school. Each fessional development. Without careful consid- school has a unique context, and the best profes- eration of its effects, professional development sional development takes account of the multiple cannot improve. Guskey (2000) suggests that factors that contribute to student learning in that fi ve levels of evaluation be included in order to context. These include the community of which get a full portrait of the strengths and weakness- the school is a part, student standards, curricular es of a given program of professional develop- frameworks, textbooks, instructional programs, ment. The fi ve are: and assessments. Attention to the local context • participants’ reactions also includes understanding and acknowledging the knowledge and experience teachers bring to • participants’ learning professional development. When teachers can • organization support and change make connections between mandated standards • participants’ use of new knowledge and skills or features of the existing curriculum and ideas • student learning outcomes forwarded in professional development, they are much more likely to incorporate new approaches Collecting and analyzing data regarding each into their pedagogical repertoires. Professional of these areas is demanding, but without such development can also help teachers understand information it is impossible to determine the ef- and work with standards and curricular frame- fectiveness of professional development. works so that they implement them more sub- stantially in the classroom (Dutro et al., 2002). Effective Professional Creation of a Professional Community Development Programs Isolation is a diffi culty faced by many teachers, and it frequently leads individuals to leave the • Continue beyond a single session or profession (Hanushek et al., 2001). Conversely, strategy teachers who belong to a study group, a learning • Require the commitment of all stake- community, or some other collaborative enter- holders prise are most likely to remain in the profession Connect with local instruction as highly successful instructors. Effective pro- • fessional development fosters collegial relation- • Create a professional community ships, creating professional communities where • Include evaluation teachers share knowledge and treat each other with respect. Within such communities teacher • Result in student achievement inquiry and refl ection can fl ourish, and research

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Professional Development and Student Achievement Investment in Student development and achievement is the professional development ultimate measure of success, and research shows pays large dividends in that professional development improves student student achievement. performance. Quality of teacher infl uences student achievement more than factors like class size and classroom peers, and effective teachers produce better achievement regardless of which curriculum materials or pedagogical approaches in schools that are beating the odds are in touch are used (Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002). with their students, their profession, their col- Not surprisingly, when professional development leagues, and society at large . . . The knowledge is tailored to classroom practice or content, it and experiences gained in their wide profes- has the greatest impact on student achievement sional arena affect the classroom context, their (Garet et al. 2001; Kelleher 2003). In short, in- students’ learning and achievement” (434). vestment in professional development pays large dividends in student achievement. A growing body of research documents the connection between systematic and sustained professional development and improved student achievement. Greenwald et al. (1996) found that moderate increases in professional devel- opment could lead to signifi cant increases in student achievement. Estrada (2005) found that an extended program of professional develop- ment improved student achievement. She also observed that this can result when “all stake- holders, including teachers, researchers, and professional developers [are] willing to face the facts of student performance levels, take respon- sibility, and take the risks inherent in working toward improvement” (355). Langer (2000) studied the links between teachers’ professional development and student achievement over fi ve years and found that students whose teachers participated in professional development im- proved signifi cantly. She writes, “The teachers

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SECTION III PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE ADOLESCENT LITERACY

The features of professional development dis- cussed in Part II are important for professional development focused on adolescent literacy. Professional Extended time for teachers to move from little communities among or no knowledge to being able to mentor oth- ers in specifi c approaches; the involvement teachers are most of all stakeholders; connection with the local common in elementary infrastructure; and the creation of a professional schools and least common community—all of these contribute to effective in secondary schools. professional development. In addition, some features of professional development apply specifi cally to those concerned with adolescent literacy: professional communities in second- ary schools, interdisciplinary collaboration, and fostering achievement in literacy among ado- literacy coaching. lescents because literacy enables and requires learning across the curriculum. Unfortunately, as research shows, professional communities Professional Development to among teachers are most common in elementary Improve Adolescent Literacy schools and least common in secondary schools (Louis & Marks, 1996). Features such as shared • Builds professional community values, focus on student learning, deprivatized practice, and refl ective dialogue are much less • Encourages interdisciplinary collaboration common among middle and high school teachers • Relies on qualifi ed literacy coaches for than among their peers in elementary schools. guidance Reform aimed at improving the literacy achievement of adolescents will need to encour- age professional development that helps teachers create professional communities. The imple- Professional Communities in Secondary Schools mentation of new approaches offered by profes- sional development requires the existence of a Collaboration among teachers is always impor- strong professional community that creates a tant to student learning because it enables stu- safe environment for teachers to experiment with dents to see connections across the curriculum. innovation (Bryk & Schneider, 2003). Profes- Such collaboration is especially important for sional development can help create professional

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communities in schools. As the research of Whether they are in a science or English Louis & Marks (1996) shows, characteristics of class, adolescents need to understand literacy as professional communities include: an array of related and complex mental and so- • Shared values cial activities rather than a set of discrete skills. • Focus on student learning This, in turn, will lead them to competence and engagement as learners (Allington, 2001; • Collaboration Alvermann & Moore, 1991). When students Deprivatized practice • in middle and high school experience effective • Refl ective dialogue literacy instruction, they develop the ability to think critically about their own reading and writ- Interdisciplinary Collaboration ing practices. They also become able to explain the meaning of a text and to recognize when Adolescent literacy is necessarily interdisciplin- they do not understand, which is a fi rst step in ary because middle and high school students helping them move to understanding. Willing- must read and write in such fi elds as science, ness to monitor their own literacy learning is one mathematics, and social sciences as well as indication of student engagement, and research English. This means that they need to learn shows a high correlation between such engage- the forms, purposes, and other textual demands ment and improved literacy learning (Taylor et specifi c to multiple disciplines (Kucer, 2005). al., 2003). Research shows that professional develop- ment associated with writing across the curricu- lum leads to more effective interdisciplinary col- Adolescent literacy laboration among teacher learners (Winchester is necessarily School District, 1987). When teachers from sev- interdisciplinary. eral disciplines work together in the context of professional development, they are much more likely to develop working relationships. Fur- thermore, when teacher learning extends across Students who have opportunities to read and disciplines it also enhances student achievement write many types of texts become fl uent, broad- (Arbaugh, 2003; Burbank & Kauchak, 2003). en their vocabularies, and expand their abilities Multi-modal literacy, literacy practices that as readers and writers. In particular, students can be used in the context of multiple sites/texts/ who participate in discussions that develop their media, supports and is supported by interdis- understanding of discipline-specifi c content ciplinarity. Multimodal texts are inherently learn to read and write effi ciently and effectively interdisciplinary because creation of them draws (Applebee et al., 2003). They develop the ability upon several fi elds of inquiry. Similarly, the to recognize how texts are organized in differ- multidisciplinary nature of literacy leads natu- ent disciplines and begin to consider the vari- rally to multi-modal forms that combine visual ous social, political, and historical contexts and and verbal texts in various ways. purposes that surround all texts.

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strategic assistance to read course content ef- fectively The most promising • facilitate student-initiated conversations re- form of professional garding texts that are authentic and relevant to development overall real life experiences appears to be literacy • create environments that allow students to coaching. engage in critical examinations of texts as they dissect, deconstruct, and reconstruct in an effort to engage in meaning making and comprehension processes. Literacy Coaching Together with the International Reading Association (IRA) and other professional as- The most promising form of professional devel- sociations, NCTE has developed standards for opment overall appears to be literacy coaching what literacy coaches should know and be able (Kamil, 2003). In this work, literacy special- to do to help teachers. These standards provide ists consult with content teachers to help them guidance for schools seeking to include literacy infuse literacy instruction into their teaching. coaching in their professional development Although qualifi cations and responsibilities of plans. Briefl y, the standards (see list on page 15) literacy coaches vary from one site to another, include general ones directed toward all coaches most agree that coaches model instruction, and content-area-specifi c ones grounded in the observe teachers and make suggestions, lead disciplines. teacher inquiry groups, and disseminate research NCTE is addressing this challenge by estab- fi ndings. Qualifi cations include 1) a strong lishing, in cooperation with the International foundation in literacy, 2) leadership skills, and Reading Association, the Literacy Coaching 3) familiarity with adult learning. Unlike reading Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse will provide specialists who spend most of their time working research-based information and service to lit- with students, literacy coaches focus on teacher eracy coaches and educational leaders in schools learning, concerning themselves with increasing across the nation. the knowledge and skills of teachers and admin- In addition, the Clearinghouse will lead istrators. further research on literacy coaching in order to Literacy coaches can help teachers: answer questions such as these: • provide a bridge between adolescents’ rich lit- • In what domain—student learning, teacher erate backgrounds and school literacy activi- learning, or school climate—is the impact of ties literacy coaches greatest? • work on school-wide teams to teach literacy • How can schools collect their own data about in each discipline as an essential way of learn- the effects of literacy coaching on student ing in the disciplines achievement? • How can we compare literacy coaches across • recognize when students are not making contexts? meaning with text and provide appropriate, • What are the characteristics of highly effec- tive coaches? Continued on page 16

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STANDARDS FOR LITERACY COACHES *

1) Skillful Collaborators Working with the school’s literacy team, literacy coaches determine the school’s strengths (and need for improvement) in the area of literacy in order to improve students’ reading, writing, and communication skills and content area achievement.

2) Skillful Job-Embedded Coaches Literacy coaches work with teachers individually, in collaborative teams, an/or with departments, providing practical support on a full range of reading, writing, and communication strategies

3) Skillful Instructional Strategists Literacy coaches lead faculty in the selection and use of a range of assessment tools as a means to make sound decisions about student literacy needs as related to the curriculum and to instruction.

4) Content area literacy coaches are accomplished middle and high school teachers who are skilled in developing and implementing instructional strategies to improve academic literacy in English language arts.

5) In English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies literacy coaches are familiar with the content area and know how reading and writing processes intersect with the given discipline.

* For a full description of each standard, see http://www.ncte.org/library/fi les/About_NCTE/Education_Issues/coaching_standards.pdf

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• What is the relationship between coaches’ Answering questions like these can be de- familiarity with content area standards and ef- scribed as a practice-embedded research (Dono- fective integration of literacy instruction into van, Wigdor, and Snow, 2003). Such research content area lessons? starts with the practice as it exists and, building on successful teacher practices already in place, • How does a coach’s knowledge in a given addresses practitioner questions while also ac- content area affect the teacher’s sense of ex- cumulating data across sites. The fi ndings will pertise? • Which qualities of literacy coaches correlate most highly with enhanced student achieve- ment in literacy? It will take approximately ten thousand literacy • What reading comprehension strategies are best received by teachers? coaches to help the nine • Which comprehension strategies and practices million fourth- through are most effective for students? twelfth-graders who • What is the optimum context for teacher-liter- struggle with reading acy coach planning and evaluation of instruc- (Sturtevant, 2003). tion? • How do coach-led teams allocate literacy and content area instruction? inform the training and evaluation of literacy coaches. Ultimately, of course, the Clearing- • What differences between content-area teach- house will be an instrument of reform focused ers’ practices can be attributed to participation on improving student achievement by enhancing in coach-led teacher meetings? the development of under-literate adolescents.

CONCLUSION

Reform in adolescent literacy requires a recogni- The most effective form of professional tion of the seriousness of the problem as well development is offered by literacy coaches, and as a reconceptualization of the role of second- the need is urgent. It will take approximately ten ary school teachers in all fi elds, including the thousand literacy coaches to help the nine million introduction of new approaches to teaching, fourth- through twelfth-graders who struggle with new forms of collaboration, and systematic reading (Sturtevant, 2003). Meeting this chal- assessment of results. Professional develop- lenge will require concerted and collaborative ment promises to be the most productive area on efforts of a number of groups, including teachers, which to focus reform efforts because research administrators, policy makers, higher education, shows that professional development yields the and professional associations like the National greatest improvement in student achievement. Council of Teachers of English.

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