Or. Admin. Code § 584-420-0015

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024

Section 584-420-0015 - Literacy: Program Standards

(1)Purpose: These standards are designed to guide the preparation of Kindergarten through 5th Grade teachers and administrators on evidence-based practices for teaching literacy. These standards are in concert with the following two Oregon laws: (1) ORS 342.147, which requires educator preparation programs to provide training to candidates that enables public school students to meet or exceed third-grade reading standards and become proficient readers by the end of the third grade; and (2) ORS 342.147 which requires the Commission to establish standards for approval of an educator preparation provider (EPP) that require early childhood education, elementary education, special education and reading programs to provide instruction on dyslexia and that the instruction be consistent with the knowledge and practice standards of an international organization on dyslexia. While the intent of these standards is to provide the essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions of teacher and administrator candidates, we recognize that knowledge of these concepts, the ability to recognize the inclusion of the concepts in instruction, and the ability to provide coaching and feedback to improve instruction will be the emphasis for those obtaining administrator licensure.

(2)Scope: The requirements for instruction on Literacy Program Standards apply to Oregon EPPs preparing candidates for:

(a) Elementary-Multiple Subjects (including early childhood education).

(b) Reading Intervention.

(c) Special Education: Generalist.

(d) English for Speakers of Other Languages.

(e) Administrator.

(3)Literacy Program Standards: For each of the standards in this rule, teacher and administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of effective literacy instruction for all students.

(4)Dispositions: Recognizing the importance of standards related to OAR 584-420-0070 Culturally Sustaining Practices to Promote Equity, OAR 584-410 Competent and Ethical Performance of Oregon Educators, and OAR 584-420-0075 Social and Emotional Development to Promote Equity that should guide all instructional decisions, the following professional dispositions of teacher and administrator candidates are essential beliefs, recognitions, and awareness for evidence-based literacy instruction:

(a) Value students' identities, including their race, ethnicity, ability, gender, identity, home languages, culture, religion, and lived experiences;

(b) Believe all students can learn to read and write when provided systematic, explicit instruction using evidence-based practices;

(c) Recognize that the acquisition of reading, unlike the acquisition of oral language, is not a natural human process. Reading and writing must be taught explicitly and systematically to ensure proficiency in literacy;

(d) Understanding that all practices must be evidence-based and rooted in ever-evolving research findings;

(e) Recognize that there are cognitive and social-emotional learning benefits to becoming both multilingual and multiliterate. Educational communities will design instruction that builds upon the multilingualism, home languages and cultures of emergent multilingual students, including those who bring Indigenous languages and English language varieties to the classroom;

(f) Belief that all students, including students experiencing disabilities and multilingual learners, deserve access to grade-level content, texts, tasks, and experiences alongside robust support; and

(g) Value that Indigenous communities have centered story and oral language since Time Immemorial, passing information and carrying meaning and connection over generations without it being transcribed or written.

Note:Refer to Division 410, State Standards For Educator Preparation Providers; 584-410-0070 Culturally Sustaining Practices to Promote Equity and Chapter 584, Division 20, Standards For Competent And Ethical Performance Of Oregon Educator, as well as OAR 584-410-0075 Social and Emotional Development to Promote Equity.

(5)Standard 1: Knowledge of Literacy Acquisition & Instruction:

(a)Literacy Acquisition

(A) Understand the major models of reading development and core ideas from the convergence of research on literacy.

(B) Understand the phases of reading development and how that information guides planning for instruction.

(C) Understand the structure of language, including phonology, orthography, morphology, semantics, syntax, pragmatics, and discourse.

(D) Understand the reciprocal relationships among oral language, phonemic awareness, decoding, word recognition, fluency, spelling, vocabulary knowledge, and background knowledge to attain reading proficiency.

(E) Identify and explain major research findings on aspects of cognition, behavior, and environmental, cultural, and social factors that affect reading and writing development.

(F) Understand how each of the above concepts impact and apply to the learning and experiences of multilingual learners and students with disabilities.

(b)Instruction

(A) The general principles and practices of structured language and literacy teaching, including explicit, systematic, cumulative, and teacher-directed instruction.

(B) Effective instructional routines to enhance student engagement and memory through rehearsal and retrieval of information.

(C) Educators recognize and consider their own lived experiences and pursue understanding of knowledge bases traditionally excluded (i.e., Indigenous knowledge, community cultural wealth) when designing instruction.

(D) Understand how each of the above concepts impact and apply to the learning and experiences of multilingual learners and students with disabilities.

(E) Analyze instructional materials in terms of the standards and general principles of effective literacy instruction.

(F) Culturally responsive literacy instruction includes the selection of a high-quality literacy curriculum and supplemental materials that include characters, subjects, settings, and authors which are reflective of the abilities, identities, and cultures of the full range of students and their communities.

(c)Administrator candidate standards

(A) Administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the above literacy acquisition and instruction standards and demonstrate the ability to identify critical elements of effective literacy instruction and provide appropriate coaching and feedback.

(B) Administrator candidates will use evidence-based tools to evaluate and select literacy instructional materials to ensure their design is aligned with the standards and general principles of effective literacy instruction.

(6)Standard 2: Literacy Foundational Skills

(a) The following standards unpack the current knowledge base by essential components of foundational literacy instruction, including principles for effective instruction. It is essential that candidates understand these components and the reciprocal relationships among them, as well as the reciprocal relationship between foundational skills and other literacy skills as described in Standard 3.

(b)Oral Language

(A) The primary role oral language plays in laying the groundwork for a child's ability to read and write.

(B) The developmental sequence of oral language common to all spoken languages.

(C) Establish classroom settings where oral language skills of listening and speaking are emphasized and student-to-student interaction is promoted.

(D) Procedures for clearly communicating with students using academic language and vocabulary.

(E) How oral language plays a critical role in learning about self, culture, and tradition, including the importance of Indigenous languages/history and viewing multilingualism through an asset-based lens.

(F) Recognize and build from the assets of multilingualism, understanding multilingual learners' lived experiences, how they learn, and how they acquire English.

(G) That language varieties are linguistically equal, and the importance of honoring different language varieties and languages in literacy instruction.

(c)Phonological Awareness

(A) Correct identification, classification, and understanding of how to compare all the consonant phonemes and all the vowel phonemes of English.

(B) Identifies opportunities to obtain resources on phonemes of other languages to inform instruction and support for multilingual learners, recognizing that phonological awareness skills can transfer across languages when students have opportunities to build these skills in their native language and English.

(C) Progression of phonological awareness skill development across ages and grades, including phonemic-awareness difficulties.

(D) Principles of effective phonemic-awareness instruction focusing on segmenting and blending of phonemes.

(d)Decoding and Word Recognition

(A) Structure of English orthography and the patterns and rules that inform the teaching of single- and multisyllabic regular word reading.

(B) Principles of explicit instruction of letter names and letter/sound associations to ensure automaticity.

(C) Principles of effective decoding, word recognition, and spelling instruction for single and multisyllabic words, including the general and specific goals of such instruction.

(D) Evidence-based procedures for teaching irregular words.

(E) Different types and purposes of texts, emphasizing the role of decodable text in teaching beginning readers.

(e)Fluency

(A) Role of fluent word-level skills in automatic word reading, orthographic mapping, oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, and motivation.

(B) Varied evidence-based techniques and methods for building reading fluency.

(C) Considerations for text reading fluency as an achievement of normal reading development that can be advanced through informed instruction and progress-monitoring practices.

(f)General Literacy Foundational Skills: Develop oral language, phonological awareness, and vocabulary across each language to the extent possible when working with multilingual learners.

(g)Administrator candidate standards: Administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the above standards and demonstrate the ability to identify critical elements of effective literacy instruction and provide appropriate coaching and feedback.

(7)Standard 3: Vocabulary, Background Knowledge, Writing, and Comprehension

(a)Vocabulary

(A) The critical role of vocabulary development and vocabulary knowledge in oral and written language comprehension including instructional implications of students having varying levels of vocabulary.

(B) Role and characteristics of direct, explicit methods of vocabulary instruction.

(C) Role and characteristics of indirect (contextual) methods of vocabulary instruction.

(D) Importance of developing vocabulary skills through the systems of language, including phonology, orthography, syntax, semantics, morphology, etymology, and the relationships among them.

(b)Background Knowledge

(A) The role background knowledge, learned through oral language or print, holds in students' ability to make meaning of and comprehend verbal language and text.

(B) Strategies for building upon family and life experiences/languages that contribute rich context to building new knowledge necessary to support comprehension in reading, listening and expression of ideas in communication and writing.

(C) Procedures for building knowledge networks through all grades including general knowledge, domain-specific knowledge, and world knowledge which begins with educator familiarity of students' and communities' funds of knowledge and culture.

(c)Comprehension

(A) Factors that contribute to students' meaning making and understanding.

(B) Instructional routines appropriate for each major genre: informational text, narrative text, and argumentation.

(C) Analyze instructional materials in terms of the standards and general principles of effective literacy instruction.

(D) Culturally responsive literacy instruction includes the selection of a high-quality literacy curriculum and supplemental materials that include characters, subjects, settings, and authors which are reflective of the abilities, identities, and cultures of the full range of students and their communities.

(E) Critical role of sentence comprehension in listening and reading comprehension.

(F) Importance of using explicit comprehension strategy instruction, as supported by research.

(G) Teacher's role as an active mediator of text-comprehension processes.

(d)Writing

(A) Reading and writing are reciprocal skills, and explicitly teaching the relationship to children is critical.

(B) Major domains that contribute to written expression, including: transcription (manuscript and cursive handwriting, letter formation, spelling, conventions, and keyboarding) and translation skills (i.e., grammar, sentence structure, writing process [including planning, writing, revising, editing, and publishing] and text structure) and the developmental phases of writing.

(C) Research-based principles must be aligned with current research for teaching written spelling and punctuation and must be explicitly taught.

(D) Demonstrate an understanding of connecting writing instruction and practice to the texts/content children are reading/learning.

(E) How to apply in practice the fundamentals of sentence construction and syntax, connecting writing to content.

(F) How to provide purposeful inclusion of writing as a strategy to increase comprehension and learning.

(e)Administrator candidate standards: Administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the above standards and demonstrate the ability to identify critical elements of effective literacy instruction and provide appropriate coaching and feedback.

(8)Standard 4: Assessment & Data-Based Decision-Making

(a)Assessment

(A) Understanding the foundational principles of assessment, such as the differences and purposes for screening, progress-monitoring, diagnostic, interim, formative, and summative assessments, including assessments in the student's home language whenever possible.

(B) Understand basic principles of how tests and items are developed and formatted to measure what students know and are able to do (e.g., reliability, validity, criterion, normed, and potential bias).

(C) Interpret and analyze multiple data points from both informal and formal assessments as well as the formative assessment process in order to help both educators and students understand where students are in their learning process and identify next instructional moves (e.g. Interpret basic statistics commonly utilized in formal and informal assessment).

(D) Know and utilize in practice well-validated screening tests designed to identify students at risk for reading difficulties.

(E) Understand and apply the principles of progress monitoring and reporting with Curriculum-Based Measures (CBMs), including graphing techniques.

(F) Know and utilize in practice informal diagnostic surveys of phonological and phoneme awareness, decoding skills, oral reading fluency, comprehension, spelling, and writing.

(G) Integrate, summarize, and communicate (orally and in writing) the meaning of educational assessment data for sharing with students, parents, and other teachers to support students in becoming self-directed learners.

(b)Data-Based Decision-Making to Inform Instruction

(A) How to use multiple sources of data to determine the instructional needs of all students, including all reader profiles and intervention needs of struggling readers within an MTSS framework. Note: A Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) is a systemic, continuous improvement framework in which data-based problem-solving and decision-making are practiced across all levels of the educational system for supporting students.

(B) Know how to elicit evidence of student learning through frequent, ongoing formative assessment to respond and adjust instruction accordingly; and to deliver specific, actionable, and timely feedback that restates the goal, describes what proficiency looks like, and shows students where they are in relation to the goal.

(C) How to provide all students with instruction that is needs-based, intensive, and with sufficient duration to accelerate learning.

(D) How to use a holistic, assets-based analysis of multilingual students when using data from multiple languages to inform instruction.

(c)Administrator candidate standards: Administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the above standards and demonstrate the ability to identify critical elements of effective literacy instruction and provide appropriate coaching and feedback.

(9)Standard 5: Supporting Multilingual Learners

(a) Understand language and literacy development of multilingual learners.

(b) Understand the stages of second language acquisition and how that information guides planning for instruction.

(c) Teach emerging multilingual students the key components of language and literacy: phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, spelling, and writing skills.

(d) Use evidence-based research on how best to teach multilingual learners

(e) Leverage technology to adapt and enhance instruction of multilingual learners.

(f) Understand implications for dual immersion teaching and learning.

(g) Understand the benefits of developing multilingual learners' home language and literacy alongside English language and literacy.

(h)Administrator candidate standards: Administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the above standards and demonstrate the ability to identify critical elements of effective literacy instruction and provide appropriate coaching and feedback.

(10)Standard 6: Students with Reading Difficulties, Reading Disabilities & Dyslexia

Note:By law, these standards must be included for students with dyslexia, but as the rule states, are appropriate for all students. These specific standards, some of which duplicate previous standards, are included to honor the existing dyslexia standards already in rule.

(a) Understand how reading disabilities vary in presentation and degree.

(b) The aims of literacy instruction apply to all children; with modifications, accommodations, supports, and technologies, every child must have access to literacy learning.

(c) Administer, interpret, and apply screening and progress monitoring assessments identified in OAR 581-022-2445 - Universal Screenings for Risk Factors of Dyslexia for students who demonstrate characteristics that may predict or are associated with dyslexia.

(d) Understand how to provide evidence-based reading instruction to all students, including students who demonstrate characteristics that may predict or are associated with dyslexia.

(e) Apply dyslexia assessment and instruction knowledge to pedagogy practice.

(f) The standards for dyslexia instruction apply to all students the candidate is being prepared to teach, including emerging multilingual students.

(g) Program alignment with the dyslexia instruction standards must be consistent with the knowledge and practice standards of an international organization on dyslexia.

(h) Appropriate uses of assistive technology for students with serious limitations in reading fluency.

(i)Administrator candidate standards: Administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the above standards and demonstrate the ability to identify critical elements of effective literacy instruction and provide appropriate coaching and feedback.

(11)Standard 7: Students who are Gifted and Talented

(a) Understand implications of sections 3 - 8 for students who are gifted and talented.

(b) Understand how to access and use strategic instructional practices that provide appropriate academic challenges and opportunities to foster academic growth.

(c) Understand how to differentiate instruction to engage gifted students to accommodate their assessed levels of learning and accelerated rates of learning..

(d) Understand the incidence of twice-exceptional learners who may be both gifted and reluctant readers, and the implications.

(e) Understand the incidence of multilingual learners who are also gifted and talented.

(f)Administrator candidate standards: Administrator candidates will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the above standards and demonstrate the ability to identify critical elements of effective literacy instruction and provide appropriate coaching and feedback.

(12)Standard 8: Field Experiences

(a) Programs of study for candidates shall include:

(A) Practice (e.g., rehearse, role play, or complete simulations of) evidence-based early literacy instruction prior to their field-based experiences working with students.

(B) Opportunity to observe (in person, virtually, or via video) models of culturally and linguistically sustaining, evidence-based early literacy practice in PK-5 classrooms aligned to the Oregon Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy.

(b) Candidates are given opportunities in field-based experiences and classroom settings outside of required student teaching requirements to:

(A) Use evidence-based instructional materials aligned to the Oregon Literacy Framework.

(B) Demonstrate their ability to implement culturally and linguistically sustaining, evidence-based instructional practices that are aligned to the Oregon Literacy Framework.

(C) Apply learning about the development of language and literacy with students within PK-5 grade span, including students who are multilingual and bidialectal and students who experience reading difficulties.

Or. Admin. Code § 584-420-0015

TSPC 4-2016(Temp), f. 8-31-16, cert. ef. 9-1-16 thru 2-27-17; TSPC 1-2017, f. & cert. ef. 2/1/2017; TSPC 1-2023, amend filed 02/07/2023, effective 3/1/2023; TSPC 15-2024, amend filed 07/23/2024, effective 8/1/2024

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 342.165 & ORS 342.147

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 342.147