(Des Moines, IA) — A national report finds Iowa is ‘weak’ when it comes to giving teachers the tools to help students learn how to read.
The National Council on Teacher Quality says nearly 40-percent of fourth graders nationwide can’t read at a basic level and a lack of effective teachers is a major problem. The report says Iowa’s shortcomings are failing to set reading standards for teacher prep, adopt a strong reading licensure test, make districts select high-quality reading curriculum material, or require professional learning and support.
Across the nation, NCTQ found that half of the states do not provide specific guidelines to teacher prep programs. More than half of states leave it to outside accreditors to approve how teachers are prepared. More than half of states use weak licensure tests. And, while states spend roughly one billion dollars on reading curricula, only nine states require districts to select a high-quality reading curriculum.
