Fewer DC students were proficient in reading in 2022 than in 2019
Dear Neighbor,
I’m facilitating a literacy panel at the DC State Board of Education (DCSBOE) Back to School event at Eastern Senior High School this morning. Hope to see you there!
What: Ask your questions about & give feedback on DC education
Where: 1700 East Capitol Street NE
When: 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
Bad News
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) released standardized testing results. Fewer DC students were proficient in reading in 2022 than in 2019.
This is devastating, not only for the 69% of students who are not reading proficiently at grade level, but also for our city and our country. In our nation’s capital, only 31% of students are reading proficiently. This concerns all of us.
Getting into the Weeds
Despite making many evidence-based investments in literacy during the pandemic, including high-dosage tutoring, DC has yet to invest at scale in an intervention that has been proven and tested in other states: structured literacy training. Just because you know how to read does not mean you know how to TEACH reading.
More than half of states now offer all reading instructors structured literacy training. DC is late & it's an injustice for DC students.
As DC’s representative on the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) literacy working group, I’ve had opportunities to learn from other states. Mississippi's student reading outcomes had always been ranked last in the country. Their student outcomes (& particularly their student backgrounds from families living with lower incomes) have now leapfrogged DC students', yet DC still hasn't implemented their proven solutions.
Reading proficiency is falling in the nation’s capital & we’re already late to implement evidence-based solutions. Time is not a luxury we have. Waiting to invest in structured literacy training at scale is an injustice to District students.
Raise Awareness
Please help me by forwarding this e-mail & inviting folks to sign up for my newsletter. I appreciate your help to advance literacy across the District.
Sincerely,
Allister