Adolescent Literacy: Idaho
Secondary Teacher Preparation Policy
Analysis of Idaho's policies
Informational Texts: Idaho's new Comprehensive Literacy standards require that teachers are able to: "analyze the complexity of text structures; utilize a variety of narrative and informational texts from both print and digital sources."
Teachers must understand:
- Importance of using a variety of texts and formats to enhance students' understanding of topics, issues, and content.
- Text complexity and structures and the importance of matching texts to readers.
- How to use instructional strategies to promote critical thinking and deeper comprehension across all genres and text formats.
- How to use instructional strategies to promote vocabulary development for all students, including English language learners.
- Analyze texts to determine complexity in order to support a range of readers.
- Select and utilize instructional strategies to promote critical thinking and deeper comprehension across all genres and text formats.
Recommendations for Idaho
Incorporate literacy skills as an integral part of every subject.
Idaho should ensure that teacher preparation standards include literacy skills and using text to build content knowledge in history/social studies, science, technical subjects and the arts to ensure that middle and secondary school students are capable of accessing varied information about the world around them.
State response to our analysis
Idaho recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis,however this analysis was updated subsequent to the state's review. The state was also helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced the analysis.
Updated: December 2017
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Idaho
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How we graded
3C: Adolescent Literary
The state should ensure that all middle and secondary teachers are sufficiently prepared for the ways that college- and career-readiness standards affect instruction in all subject areas. Specifically,
- Middle School Preparation: The state should ensure that all new middle and secondary teachers are prepared to incorporate informational texts of increasing complexity into instruction.
- Secondary Preparation: The state should ensure that all new middle and secondary teachers are prepared to incorporate literacy skills as an integral part of every subject.
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if at least one of the two components is "fully addressed" and one is "partially addressed."
- One-quarter credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if one of the two components is "fully addressed" or two are "partially addressed."
One-half of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
- One-half credit: The state will earn one-half of a point if at least one of the two components is "fully addressed" and one is "partially addressed."
- One-quarter credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if one of the two components is "fully addressed" or two are "partially addressed."
Research rationale
States must ensure that middle school and secondary teacher preparation programs prepare teachers to incorporate complex text into instruction and student practice. These are critical years of schooling when far too many students fall through the cracks.
With that said, college- and career-readiness standards are influencing significant shifts in literacy instruction.
College- and career-readiness standards for K-12 students adopted by nearly all states require from teachers a different focus on literacy integrated into all subject areas.[1] The standards demand that teachers are prepared to bring complex text and academic language into regular use, emphasize the use of evidence from informational and literary texts, and build knowledge and vocabulary through content-rich texts. While most states have not ignored teachers' need for training and professional development related to these instructional shifts, states must also attend to the parallel need to align teacher competencies and requirements for teacher preparation so that new teachers will enter the classroom ready to help students meet the expectations of these standards.
[1] Student Achievement Partners. (2015). Research supporting the Common Core ELA/literacy shifts and standards. Retrieved from https://achievethecore.org/content/upload/Research%20Supporting%20the%20ELA%20Standards%20and%20Shifts%20Final.pdf