Invest in Teachers, Improve Students’ Literacy

March 6, 2025

The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results are out. A few highlights: 4th and 8th grade students scores declined 2 points for each grade level, one-third of 8th-grade students scored below basic (the highest percentage since students first started taking the NAEP test), and the divide between higher- and lower-performing students continues to widen.

Cue the articles and think pieces blaming pandemic learning loss, problematic curriculum, smart phones distracting students, and more. It could be any or all of these (or something else entirely) but the test won’t tell us that. The test results are like a thermometer: we know there’s a fever—4th and 8th grade students are struggling to comprehend grade level texts—but the metric (test scores) don’t tell us why.

Just as you would go to a doctor to learn why your child has a fever and what to do about it, we should trust teachers—who work with and assess students daily—to know why students are struggling, and to determine what each student needs to improve. And just as Atul Gawande (2011) argues that coaching and professional development (PD) are essential for doctors to stay up to date with research, improve performance and skills, encourage teamwork, and develop confidence, I argue it matters tremendously for teachers, too. However, PD in education is too often underfunded, overlooked, or not done with the depth, relevance, or meaning necessary to make an impact.

Teachers’ jobs are more challenging than ever.  Every educator—from those newer to the profession to veteran teachers—need and deserve quality PD that respects teacher agency and helps them benefit from the latest research, learn new skills, and hone practices that work. And most important, our students deserve teachers who are regularly engaged in refining both the art and science of teaching.

So, what does great professional learning for literacy look like? Based on my decades of experience as a teacher, coach, and leader of a professional learning group, here are a few key elements I focus on:

Relies on research. Any pedagogical approach or classroom practice should be drawn from the extensive body of research that shows which instructional practices are most likely to help the most students become proficient readers. No one area of research or specific topic should be emphasized over others. (Pearson, 2023). The research shows that phonics and knowledge-building—which have been the recent focus of conversation to improve reading outcomes—are essential. Research also shows that strategy instruction including fluency, comprehension, verbal reasoning, executive function skills, language structure, engagement and motivation, and theory of mind are also key to developing proficient readers who not only can read words but also understand and learn from what they read (Duke and Cartwright, 2021).

Considers the realities of the classroom. Controlled studies, meta-analyses, brain research, etc. are all important but they aren’t terribly helpful if they aren’t translated into doable classroom practices. If the recommended practices are overly complicated and difficult to execute, it’s unlikely that teachers can successfully implement them in a way that drives student learning. Clear explanations, respect for teachers’ time constraints, step-by-step guidelines, easy-to-use resources, feasible suggestions for differentiation, ideas to engage students—along with instructional strategies demonstrated and practiced in real classrooms—can transform PD from the passive sit-and-get experiences that often frustrate teachers to meaningful learning that they can apply immediately in their classrooms.

Honors teachers’ experience. In my work with teachers, I have found them to be eager learners, interested in knowing how to improve their literacy instruction to better help students meet learning goals. They are also invested in maintaining what works and having the flexibility to adapt instructional resources and guidelines to better meet the needs of their students. After all they are experts on their students—where they are on their learning journey, how best to scaffold instruction, what motivates and engages them, and which practices have resonated, and which haven’t. They are the ones who continuously assess, both formally and informally, to gain deeper insights beyond the superficial results of standardized tests, and have the best insights into the what, why, and how of supporting their students.

Includes outside voices. As important as it is to draw on in-house expertise, outside voices have a critical place. Those of us who specialize in professional learning spend time most educators can’t poring over research, attending conferences, testing evidence-based practices in hundreds of classrooms, and studying methods of adult learning. Outsiders can bring in new ideas and approaches, offer alternative perspectives, provide ongoing assessment and support, and spark positive change. Whether you invite this outside voice through a year-long book study with a PLC, attend a virtual workshop, participate in conferences, or invite a professional learning facilitator into you school for several days across the year, outside voices enrich a school’s overall PD.

Facilitates opportunities for collaboration with colleagues. When learners of any age work together, they solidify their understanding, consider different ideas, discover new approaches, engage further, and in general expand their learning. Collaboration among teachers has the added benefits of aligning learning approaches across grades and subjects, allowing participants to share the workload, providing opportunity for ongoing adaptations and improvement, and more. 

Research shows again and again that a good teacher is THE classroom factor that most influences student learning (Gabriel, 2023).

Invest in teachers’ professional learning, improve our students’ literacy.

References:

Duke, Nell and Cartwright, Kelly. 2021. The science of reading progresses: Communicating advances beyond the simple view of reading. The Reading Teacher. Vol 56

Gabriel, Rachael. To the Classroom Podcast. April 2023.

Gawanda, Atul. 2011. “Personal Best”. The New Yorker.

Pearson, P. David. To the Classroom Podcast. November 2023.