Literacy Landscape

/ Arizona Literacy Plan 2030 / Literacy Landscape

Literacy Landscape

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Fourth Grade Reading

Arizona

Southern Surge

In recent years, four southern states have demonstrated consistent and exceptional progress in early literacy, as measured by fourth grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Mississippi was the only state to see gains across all performance levels over the last decade. Its average went up, and so did the scores of its highest and lowest performers.

4th Grade NAEP 2024

Mississippi: Policies and Strategies

Statewide training for teachers in the science of reading instruction and intervention.
Literacy coaches provide training and support for educators.
Ongoing communication with parents and individual reading plans created in collaboration with parents for students found deficient in reading.
State investments in Pre-K, kindergarten entry assessment, and full-day kindergarten.
Retention for third graders not meeting reading score for promotion.

Mississippi pioneered literacy coaching in 2013 sending coaches to its lowest-performing schools. At the height of scale, 75 coaches were deployed across the state.

In 2024, Louisiana performed better than it had in 2019, making it one of the rare places to see academic recovery. It was one of only two states to avoid a COVID dip in reading scores.

4th Grade NAEP 2024

Louisiana: Policies and Strategies

Improved knowledge-building curriculum.
All K-3 educators required to have training in the science of reading.
New literacy screening and parent notification.
High-impact tutoring.
State investments in Pre-K, kindergarten entry assessment and full-day kindergarten.
Retention for third graders not meeting reading score for promotion.

In 2013, the state began doing curriculum reviews. Since 2016, all schools have been required to use high-quality instructional materials. The state provided free professional learning workshops for specific curricula.

Tennessee learned from both Mississippi and Louisiana and took the best of both models.

4th Grade NAEP 2024

Tennessee: Policies and Strategies

Reformed and improved knowledge-building curriculum along with a free foundational skills curriculum available to all schools; in 2020 all schools adopted HQIM from approved list to receive state funds.
DOE developed its own streamlined training for teachers; nearly all educators trained in the science of reading in less than three years.
High-impact tutoring.
State investments in Pre-K, full-day kindergarten.
Retention for third graders not meeting reading score for promotion.

Through its Reading360 initiative, the state trained more than 45,000 teachers or 70% of all of its teachers effectively in the Science of Reading in less than three years. (2020-2023)

Alabama was one of only two states to show NAEP growth in 4th grade reading since 2019. In 2019, Alabama ranked 49th for fourth-grade reading, and today it ranks 34th.

4th Grade NAEP 2024

Alabama: Policies and Strategies

Statewide training for teachers in the science of reading instruction and intervention.
Literacy coaches provide training and support for educators.
All schools must use a foundational skills curriculum from approved list to receive state funds.
Lowest performing readers sent to literacy summer camps for 60 hours of intervention in the summer.
State investments in Pre-K, kindergarten entry assessment, and full day kindergarten.
Retention for third graders not meeting reading score for promotion.

In one year, the state provided summer literacy camps for more than 30,000 struggling readers, catching half of them up to grade level.

State by State Comparison

Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA), Grade 3, English Language Arts

All Students

Student Subgroups, 2024

Arizona Chronic Absence Rate

Grades 1-8

Chronic absence rate is the percentage of students missing 10% or more of school year for any reason.

Source: AZ School Report Cards/Arizona Department of Education

Arizona Policy: Move On When Reading (MOWR)

Move On When Reading is our state’s K-3 reading policy, which helps public and charter schools provide effective, evidence-based reading instruction for students in kindergarten through third grade and identify and support students with reading challenges as early and effectively as possible.
Funding to support all public and charter K-3 schools to promote evidence-based reading instruction and early intervention.
To receive MOWR funds, each school district and charter school is required to submit a literacy plan annually to ADE.
Funding must be used to support K-3 reading through:
- Staffing
- Materials
- Assessment
- Professional Development

Milestones That Support Early Literacy

2010

A.R.S. §15-701 states that districts or charters are required to do:

Provide for universal literacy screening of students (PK-3rd grade) to identify students who have reading deficiencies.
School districts and charter schools must develop evidence-based intervention and remedial strategies for K-3 students identified as having reading deficiencies.
Provide annual written notification to parents of PK-3 students who do not demonstrate sufficient reading skills within there weeks of identifying the deficiency.
Students who score significantly below grade-level on the 3rd grade state assessment may be retained in order to receive additional reading instruction and support. A student that needs additional help may be eligible for a “good cause exception”.

2010

A.R.S.§15-704 states that districts or charters are required to:

Implement a K-3 assessment system that includes a dyslexia screening plan.
Have an evidence-based reading curriculum and provide ongoing teacher training based in evidence-based reading research.
Provide explicit instruction and intensive interventions for students reading below grade level.
Devote reasonable amounts of time to explicit evidence-based instruction and independent reading in grades one through three.
Provide explicit and systematic instruction in 1) phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness; 2) phonics encoding and decoding; 3) vocabulary development; 4) reading fluency; 5) reading comprehension; and 6) written and oral expression, including spelling and handwriting.

2019

A.R.S §15-211 Dyslexia Training

Requires that a Dyslexia Training Designee (DTD) be established at each school. The DTD is required to participate in training courses focused on reading instruction, intensifying reading instruction, and understanding and recognizing dyslexia from a list of approved trainings that meet the legislative criteria. Each year, schools must identify their DTD and provide training documentation as a part of their annual MOWR literacy plan submission.

2019

A.R.S. §15-756 Support for English Learners

Provides a prescriptive approach to language instruction for EL students while allowing flexibility. The goal is for EL students to become fluent English proficient in a period “not normally to exceed one year.” Students receive four hours of intensive language intervention each day in the components of oral language (listening and speaking), reading, writing and grammar.

2021

A.R.S §15-704 Screening of All Kindergarten and 3rd Grade Students for Characteristics Consistent with Dyslexia

These screening measures have been embedded within the universal literacy screening already taking place on each campus three times per school year. A list of approved tools is reviewed annually to meet the requirements of the legislation.

2021

A.R.S §15-501.1 K-5 Literacy Endorsement

All current kindergarten through 5th grade certificated educators who provide literacy instruction must acquire the K-5 Literacy Endorsement. All pre-service teachers exiting teacher prep programs will need this endorsement starting in 2025.

“Improving literacy rates is a requirement for building a qualified workforce for the future, keeping the United States globally competitive and ensuring broader economic opportunity.”
Why Reading Matters - Now More Than Ever
Business Roundtable (2016, 2020)

For Educators

For Families

For Community Partners