Running Head: EXAMINATION OF LITERACY AND IMPACT OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION

An Examination of Literacy and the Impact of Literacy Instruction in Education Preparatory

Programs on the General Education Classroom

Andrea Campbell

Honors Project Proposal

Drury University
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EXAMINATION OF LITERACY AND IMPACT OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION

Literacy is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate

and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts” (UNESCO,

2018). A recent educational shift has expanded our definition of literacy to encompass

multidimensional abilities, as well as to consider the cultural and societal factors which can aid

in or hinder the literacy development process. Commonly, literacy and reading are seen as

synonymous, however, literacy encompasses a greater umbrella regarding student learning and

success beyond the classroom. This umbrella of literacy now contains not only reading, but

writing, speaking, and listening. Literacy is a vehicle through which students are able to gain the

knowledge of other content areas. It involves a continuum of learning which expands across the

discipline areas and into the real world. With the prevalence of illiteracy still today, the

importance of literacy instruction must not be taken lightly.

Illiteracy is a universal, societal concern which continues to exist today. Research shows

that children who do not learn to read by the end of third grade are likely to remain poor readers

for the rest of their lives (Hanford, 2018). Beyond that, those individuals who continue to

struggle with reading are more likely to drop out of high school, to live in poverty, or to end up

in the criminal justice system. Administrators are able to predict high school dropout levels

based on third grade reading scores. The National Bureau of Economic Research states that

“Children whose parents have low literacy levels have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest

reading levels themselves. These children are more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral

problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years, or drop out.” (NBER, 2008). And it is

not just a concern of poverty or low socioeconomic status. One third of America’s struggling
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EXAMINATION OF LITERACY AND IMPACT OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION

readers are from college-educated families (Hanford, 2018). The world is facing a literacy crisis

and the frontlines for battling this crisis are in the classroom.

In order to teach literacy in the most effective manner and fight to decrease illiteracy

rates, teachers must be knowledgeable of the levels of reading abilities and literacy skills for

each of their students in the classroom. This task is accomplished through the usage of literacy

assessments. These assessments can be informal or formal in nature with some focused on

forming a plan to improve student learning, while others are used for screening or diagnostic

purposes. Assessment is a crucial part of learning literacy, as an educator is unable to improve

students’ literacy skills if they do not know where students are at or what specific areas they are

struggling with. When used in a meaningful and purposeful way, literacy assessments provide an

abundance of information which valuable for teaching and learning (International Reading

Association, 2010).

While there are a plethora of educational philosophies and approaches to teaching, one

commonality all educators can agree on is that literacy is essential to student success. Since the

establishment of the United States as a country, there have been educational acts to restructure

education and specifically to address literacy rates. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of

2015 specifies a direct and sustained approach to improving literacy achievement by “developing

high-quality literacy instruction and a continuum of interventions and support for students at risk

for reading and writing failure” (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2017). There is also mass

amounts of research and data on how to most effectively implement literacy instruction in the

classroom. Cognitive neuroscientist, Mark Seidenberg, has dedicated his life to studying how

humans learn to read and what prevents so many students from gaining basic literacy skills. He

states that “without explicit and systematic phonics instruction, many children won’t ever learn
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EXAMINATION OF LITERACY AND IMPACT OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION

to read very well” (Seidenberg, 2017) Literacy is one of the most debated and researched facets

of education due to its significance both in and out of the classroom.

However, there is a rising concern with the discrepancies between what science supports

and what is occurring in the classroom. In September of 2018, Emily Hanford, a correspondent

with American Public Media who specializes in educational research, released a radio episode

titled Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read? This episode discussed the literacy

issues occurring in the classroom and claimed that there is breakdown between scientifically

supported literacy instruction and what teachers are implementing in the classroom. Hanford

blamed this disconnect on a lack of training at the collegiate level in educational prep programs,

where faculty are not using the scientific knowledge that informs reading accusation in pre-

service teacher instruction. Hanford writes, “In 2016, the National Council on Teacher Quality, a

Washington, D.C.-based think tank, reviewed the syllabi of teacher preparation programs across

the country and found that only 39 percent of them appeared to be teaching the components of

effective reading instruction” (Hanford, 2018). These statistics and claims are a concern for

future educators and parents alike, who rely heavily on educational preparatory programs to

produce effective and knowledgeable educators.

The claims made by Hanford regarding pre-service instruction are intriguing and the

significant role of literacy in our society is undeniable. Because of this, I will be focusing my

research on the different aspects of literacy and literacy instruction that are more critical for

success and will evaluate Drury University’s Education Program in regard to preparing future

educators to teach and assess literacy. I would like to answer the question “What does effective

literacy instruction look like, and in what ways are educational preparatory programs preparing

or failing preservice educators for teaching effective literacy instruction?”

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EXAMINATION OF LITERACY AND IMPACT OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION

For this semester, I will focus my energy on learning about and teaching to my peers

effective literacy assessment as it is an integral part of literacy instruction in the classroom and

successful student learning. In the coming semester, I will be conducting a survey on my peers

before and after the completion of Drury’s course designed specifically to teach literacy

assessment and effective literacy instruction. This data will then be used to help evaluate Drury’s

Education Program in terms of preparation for teaching literacy and will be presented at

conference as well as to the Drury Education Advisory Board in order to better the education

program and assist in achieving national accreditation.

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EXAMINATION OF LITERACY AND IMPACT OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION

Bibliography

Alliance for Excellent Education. (2017). Literacy. Every Student Succeeds Act.

Casacio, E., Clark, D., & Gordon, N. (2008). Education and the Age Profile of Literacy into

Adulthood. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Hanford, E. (2018, September 10). Hard Words: Why Aren’t Our Kids Being Taught to Read?

American Public Media Reports Podcast retrieved from

https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/09/10/hard-words-why-american-kids-arent-

being-taught-to-read 

Hernandez, D. (2012). Double Jeopardy: How Third Grade Reading Skills and Poverty

Influence

High School Graduation. Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation

International Reading Association. (2010). Standards for the assessment of reading and writing

(Rev. ed.). Newark, DE: Author. Retrieved from https://literacy

worldwide.org/docs/default-source/resource -documents/standards-for-the-assessment-of

-reading-and-writing.pdf

Montoya, S. (2018). Defining Literacy. Hamburg, Germany: United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School

Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy

in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Washington, DC: Author.

Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf

Popham, J. W. (2011). Assessment Literacy Overlooked: A Teacher Educator’s Confession. The

Teacher Educator, 46, 265-273.

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Seidenberg, M. (2017). Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and

What Can Be Done About It. New York, NY: Basic Books.