Teaching Reading: New York

Analysis of New York's policies

Scientifically Based Reading Instruction—Tests and Standards: All elementary teacher candidates in New York must pass the New York State Teacher Certification Examination (NYSTCE) Multi-Subject:Teachers of Childhood as a condition of initial licensure. This test includes a separately scored English language arts/literacy section. It addresses all five instructional components of scientifically based reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, and it amounts to a stand-alone reading test.  

Informational Texts: Elementary teacher candidates must be prepared for the key instructional shifts related to literacy that differentiate college- and career-readiness standards from their predecessors. The Multi-Subject: Teachers of Childhood assessment includes the instructional shifts toward building content knowledge and vocabulary through increasingly complex texts and careful reading of informational and literary texts associated with the state's college- and career-readiness standards for students. The test framework addresses "text complexity and instruction in text comprehension" and outlines the following performance indicators:

• Demonstrates an understanding of how emergent text comprehension relates to comprehension skills that are the focus of instruction in later grades and to essential college- and career-readiness text-comprehension skills
• Demonstrates an understanding of the role of asking a range of cognitively complex questions that require students to respond using text-based evidence
• Applies knowledge of quantitative tools and measures for evaluating text complexity. 

It also outlines the following performance indicators relating to "instruction in reading literature and informational text":

• Demonstrates an understanding of NYCCLS grade-specific standards in reading literature and informational text for grades 1-6 and the relationship of these standards to the development of college and career readiness in reading by the end of grade 12.
• Applies knowledge of developmentally appropriate, research- and evidence-based assessment and instructional practices to promote students' development of skills for integrating, analyzing and evaluating knowledge and ideas from literary and informational text.

Literacy Skills: The NYSTCE Multi-Subject:Teachers of Childhood test framework requires candidates to demonstrate knowledge of "the role of background knowledge in text comprehension and strategies for planning a content-rich, text-rich classroom environment and for promoting independent reading in a wide range of text types and genres to support text comprehension through the development of academic background knowledge."  However, this standard is not adequate to ensure that teachers include literacy skills across the core content areas.

Struggling Readers: The NYSTCE Multi-Subject:Teachers of Childhood test framework also addresses struggling readers with the following performance indicator: "[S]elects and describes accurately and appropriately effective strategies, activities, or interventions to address a student's identified need ... in reading, writing, listening, speaking, language knowledge and conventions, and/or vocabulary acquisition."

Citation

NYSTCE Test Requirements http://www.nystce.nesinc.com/index.asp

Recommendations for New York

Ensure that the science of reading test is meaningful.
To ensure that its science of reading test is sufficiently rigorous, New York should evaluate its passing score to make certain it reflects a high standard of performance and that all teachers are well prepared in the science of reading instruction before entering the classroom.

Ensure that new elementary teachers are prepared to incorporate literacy skills as an integral part of every subject.
To ensure that elementary students are capable of accessing varied information about the world around them, New York should also—either through testing frameworks or teacher standards—include literacy skills and using text to build content knowledge in history/social studies, science, technical subjects and the arts.

State response to our analysis

New York stated that Teachers of Childhood Education candidates are required to complete at least six semester hours (90 hours of study) in language acquisition and literacy development by native English speakers and students who are English language learners; and in developing the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills of all students. In addition, the state noted that programs must prepare candidates with a knowledge base for assisting students in grades 1-6 in meeting the State student learning standards. The State learning standards include the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. These standards address literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects, and practitioners are expected to address the incorporation of literacy skills across core content areas.

The first paragraph of the Multi-Subject: Teachers of Childhood (grade 1-grade 6) Test Framework explains that the elementary teacher "skillfully applies knowledge of language and literacy development and knowledge of developmentally appropriate, effective materials, instruction, and formal and informal assessment in all aspects of literacy and English language arts to meet the literacy-learning needs of students from grade 1 through grade 6 across the content areas."

In New York State, elementary teachers apply and integrate students' knowledge and literacy skills practiced in one content area and transfer those skills to other content areas where they can be used to build new content and facilitate student learning. Elementary teachers regularly engage students across core content areas to develop students' literacy skills through the use of informational and explanatory texts. The state referenced the following test competencies:

• Competency 1.2 - Knowledge of English Language Arts Performance Indicators b-e, students learn core content subject-matter throughout the day in "books about history, social studies, science, and the arts; and technical texts." Using a range of content resources, teachers create opportunities to help students use, apply, and transfer literacy skills from one context to others.
• Competency 2.4 - Text Complexity and Instruction in Text Comprehension Performance Indicators a-g across content areas within a "text-rich classroom environment" inclusive of a "range of text types" used in all core content areas.

New York also cited test competencies from its Educating All Students Test:.

• Competency 0002 English Language Learners "The New York State educator understands the characteristics, strengths, and needs of English Language Learners and effectively uses this knowledge to assist in developing their language and literacy skills and promoting their achievement of learning standards in all content areas."Performance Indicators g and h for this competency require candidates to apply literacy skills across the content areas for this population.
  • "g. applies knowledge of strategies for supporting English Language Learners' development of content area literacy skills and for teaching English Language Learners how to use literacy skills as tools for learning" 
  • h. applies knowledge of criteria and procedures for evaluating, selecting, creating, and adjusting instructional materials and strategies and assessment systems and practices to meet the learning needs of English Language Learners and to promote their achievement of learning standards in all content areas."

The state also noted that Teachers of Childhood Education candidates must complete the edTPA Elementary Assessment Handbook. But the state was not able to share the descriptions of the tasks and rubrics in the handbook due to copyright and test security reasons. New York suggested reaching out to Pearson and/or SCALE to see how the handbook rubrics address the NCTQ goals around candidates' abilities to incorporate complex texts and academic language into instruction, incorporate literacy skills as an integral part of every subject, and identify and support struggling readers, including how candidates develop students' academic language.

Updated: August 2018