Dozens of states have passed new laws or launched initiatives to mandate that schools adopt an evidence-based approach to reading instruction. But on their own they won鈥檛 lead automatically to changes in the classroom, experts say.

Shifting practice relies on the difficult, decidedly unglamorous work of implementation鈥攅nsuring that schools have a roadmap for enacting change and the resources to make it happen.

鈥淭his requires a sustained effort over time, and an ongoing commitment and capacity to maintain the infrastructure needed to support this work,鈥� said Carissa Moffat Miller, the CEO of the Council of Chief State School Officers, in a virtual panel discussion on state progress on reading initiatives on Feb. 20.

Three state leaders joined Miller to describe their multifaceted approaches to reading improvement: offering new training, guiding curriculum selection and adoption, and collaborating with colleges and universities.

Over the past decade, 37 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or implemented new policies related to evidence-based reading instruction, according to an Education Week analysis. Most of them took effect in the last five years as the 鈥渟cience of reading鈥� movement gained national attention.

Still, analyses of these laws have found that they don鈥檛 always offer the implementation support needed to change school systems on a broad scale. In some states, ambitious timelines and unfunded mandates have left school leaders and teachers scrambling to train educators and figure out how to shift entrenched practices.

鈥淥ne thing that we have learned very quickly is that while this is urgent for Indiana, urgent for our country to make sure we are doing a better job of leading, you have to be very aware that you can鈥檛 eat the elephant all at once,鈥� said Katie Jenner, Indiana鈥檚 secretary of education, during the panel. 鈥淵ou have to be strategic.鈥�

Identifying funding sources

Funding to support the work underpins any large-scale instructional shift. State leaders at CCSSO鈥檚 event discussed how they used federal COVID-relief funds to meet some of their goals.

Rhode Island used ESSER dollars to fund reading instructional coaches and assessments to measure student progress, said Ang茅lica Infante-Green, the state鈥檚 commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

Though teachers have until 2025 to complete training in evidence-based practices, rolling out these assessments gave schools a sense of students鈥� current needs, she said. 鈥淲hen we saw everybody鈥檚 data, school data, disaggregated data, there was even more of an impetus to move faster,鈥� said Infante-Green.

Also this week, CCSSO documenting states鈥� investments in improving reading instruction, using the 10 percent of ESSER funds set aside for states. Forty-four states are using part of the funds to support literacy instruction, with 32 specifically addressing the science of reading.

Other state leaders highlighted partnerships with charitable organizations.

鈥淲ith federal money going away, our philanthropy community is major as states start to think about the scaling of this,鈥� said Jenner.

Indiana used $26 million in ESSER state set-aside funds to support reading initiatives, but the state department of education also partnered with the Lilly Endowment, an Indiana-based foundation that funds work in community development, education, and Christian groups. The organization pledged $60 million for teacher training and $25 million to support educator preparation programs in teaching science of reading-aligned methods, according to CCSSO.

Measuring students鈥� reading achievement

Tracking progress toward goals was a priority for state leaders who spoke during the panel.

In Indiana, the state鈥檚 department of education has created a public-facing that identifies the percentage of students able to read by the end of 3rd grade by district. This 鈥渉eat map鈥� provides a guide for state officials for where more support is needed, Jenner said.

The state also tracks which state resources districts are and aren鈥檛 using, she added.

Assessing efforts against student data is the most important piece of sustaining reading improvements, said Shannon Trejo, the deputy commissioner of the office of school programs at the Texas Education Agency.

鈥淲e can all put together a wonderful professional development plan, and we can select high quality materials, but unless we鈥檙e monitoring and really paying attention to the student outcomes in a way that show us what the leading indicators are, it鈥檚 hard to come back and refine those practices in a way that actually impacts students in the long run,鈥� she said.

Infante-Green, in Rhode Island, also talked about the importance of monitoring implementation.

鈥淭he important piece for us is to not just set things up and walk away from it,鈥� she said.

The state published a list of approved high-quality curricula in English/language arts. Now, Infante-Green said, officials are trying to figure out how those materials are being used in classrooms.

鈥淲e all know that once that door closes 鈥� we like to tweak things a little bit,鈥� she said. 鈥淎re we using the curriculum with fidelity?鈥�

Rhode Island鈥檚 education department has fielded an anonymous survey to ask schools about how, and how often, these resources are used.

鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 anonymous, I think that we will get as much information as possible鈥攁nd where we also have to strengthen what we鈥檙e doing with the districts, and overall our messaging too,鈥� Infante-Green said. 鈥淏ecause if we see teachers deviating, then we need to strengthen our message on how this is very correlated to the science of reading.鈥�