California reading scores rise after billions in literacy spending, but coach shortage may limit gains
California’s fourth-grade reading scores have improved since the state began overhauling literacy instruction, but a shortage of literacy coaches may be limiting further progress, CalMatters reported.
The state ranked 47th in fourth-grade reading in 2013, with 27% of students scoring proficient or advanced on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, according to NAEP data cited by CalMatters. The next year, California released a new English language arts framework that emphasizes phonics and vocabulary. In 2023 the state set aside $500 million for literacy coaches; the following year it added $215 million and the most recent budget included another $350 million for the effort, CalMatters reported.
Sarah Novicoff, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California, told CalMatters that the investments have produced measurable gains. “They’ve absolutely had a positive impact,” Novicoff said. Novicoff’s study found that nearly 60% of school districts used grant money to hire literacy coaches, reading specialists or provide teacher training, and that districts making those investments saw students score about 6 points higher on state tests within two years.
But hiring coaches has been a challenge. CalMatters reported that 42% of districts said they had trouble finding literacy coaches. “I’d love to hire a literacy coach,” Patricia Gunderson, superintendent of the Lassen County Office of Education, told CalMatters. Gunderson said remote and rural areas struggle to find credentialed teachers and substitutes to cover training. Allan Carver, county superintendent in Siskiyou County, said the coach program can worsen teacher shortages when teachers leave the classroom to become coaches. “We work to solve one issue and further exacerbate the teacher shortage,” Carver said.
Some schools that have hired coaches report strong results. At Tracy Elementary in Baldwin Park, principal Laura Rodriguez said a literacy coach has helped raise reading scores, drop chronic absenteeism and improve math results. The school’s literacy coach, Claudia Barba, runs workshops, trains aides, assesses students and helps teachers implement a bilingual phonics and vocabulary plan. Rodriguez said Tracy’s reading scores rose more than 10 percentage points in two years and chronic absenteeism fell from 44% to 11%, CalMatters reported.
This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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