Undertaking a school literacy review

By Rosie Clarke, Editor

Learners are failing to meet literacy standards at an alarming rate, prompting schools to review their literacy programs.

Among the concerning trends are growing gaps between literacy levels of boys and girls, with boys more likely to fail standards in reading and writing, as well as declines in the number of high achieving literacy learners, reported in a 2022 review of available statistics by The Education Hub titled, “Now I Don’t Know My ABC”. Further distressing, is that Pasifi ka students with low English literacy scores are 35 percent more likely to become excluded from school, according to recent data analysis by the University of Canterbury.

Immense pressure has been placed on kaiako to improve literacy outcomes by taking a more structured literacy approach. At the same time, the Ministry of Education has promised additional funding and resources to fi ll teachers’ knowledge gaps around evidence-based literacy pedagogy and has designed new standards to strengthen literacy education and the NCEA system. While yet to be implemented formally, more than 200 schools are currently piloting these new NCEA standards, with evaluations set for release in Term 1, 2023.

In the meantime, how should schools review their existing approach? What changes are schools implementing to improve outcomes? We sought these answers from some leading literacy programs on these issues. “There has always been diversity in our classrooms,” asserts Learning Matt ers Founder and Managing Director Carla McNeil: “COVID hasn’t intensifi ed this, it has put a spotlight on it, which I believe is a good thing.”

What changes are schools implementing to improve outcomes?

Providing the knowledge and tools to implement a STRUCTURED LITERACY approach in your school. iDeaL is a complete, comprehensive, and costeffective approach that lifts literacy outcomes

Professional Learning Assessments Progress Monitoring Resources

We have made the move to Structured Literacy and could not be more pleased with the iDeaL Approach. The money we have invested vs outcome is an easy decision.”

- School Principal

Rather, she says: “What we’re seeing now is a more deliberate focus on how literacy is taught in our schools and the questioning of whether we have the most eff ective and evidence-based practices in our classrooms.” Signifi cantly, “more and more teachers and leaders are really starting to question whether taking a whole-language or balanced approach to the teaching of reading is the best approach for all our tamariki. Many of our teachers have been trained to teach in this way, so it is no fault of the schools or teachers. These approaches are unfortunately ingrained in our education system and have been the norm in New Zealand for many years. “What is exciting to see is that many teachers and leaders throughout New Zealand are building their knowledge of how the brain learns to read. With this knowledge, we’re seeing the removal of confl icting practices that are not based on evidence and research, such as teaching phonics in isolation without a scope and sequence, asking students to use picture cues and not keeping eyes on text when reading through words, and utilising running records which represent the assessment of the three cueing systems. “These practices are counterproductive and a misalignment with the fi ndings of the Science of Reading, on which a Structured Literacy approach is founded. Good readers don’t guess. Once our children can decode, then the cognitive load decreases, the focus shift s, enabling them to increase vocabulary, build language and reading comprehension and ultimately intellect.” A Structured Literacy approach has four components, and McNeil outlines these as being diagnostic, gathering assessment data in phonological awareness and alphabetic principle; systematic, taught in a logical order from easiest to most diffi cult; culminative, building on concepts progressively, and explicit, teaching intentionally. As such: “When reviewing existing programs, or when surveying alternative options, I strongly encourage schools to research providers that build teacher knowledge. A shift to evidence-based practices not only needs to happen in how children are taught to read, but it also needs to occur in how our teachers are taught to teach reading. Any elements that do not align with evidence-based teaching practice should be removed. “Schools should look for an approach that includes a scope and sequence, has repetitive instructional language, and includes elements of phonology, sound-to-symbol association, morphology, syllable instruction, semantics, and syntax. The approach also needs to be systematic and cumulative and provide a lesson plan or sequence which builds consistent practice and alignment from Tiers 1 to 3. “Implementing an evidencebased approach that meets the needs of all students and applying it with consistency across all tiers will be the most eff ective in terms of outcomes.

“Finally, the approach must have the inclusion of diagnostic assessment tools that specifi cally direct teaching and learning.”

© stock.adobe.com

Better Start Literacy Approach

Te Ara Reo Matatini

Outstanding professional learning opportunities for literacy specialists, Year 0-2 teachers and teacher aides in 2023. Gain skills, knowledge and a microcredential in evidence-based early literacy instruction for tamariki in Aotearoa. The Better Start Literacy Approach is a culturally responsive, structured approach to literacy instruction, supporting early literacy success. Developed for New Zealand teachers and students, by world-leading researchers in phonological awareness and oral language development, it utilises the most effective, evidence-based ways to teach children to read, write and spell.

Ministry of Education funding available; includes teacher release, resources for teaching and assessment, and course costs. For more information, visit: www.betterstartapproach.com https://pld.education.govt.nz/find-pld/bsla-professional-support/

Edumaxi’s very own Madelize Bekker told School News that when it comes to literacy programming: “We all have our opinions and preferences, and we all operate within the boundaries of our own comfort zones, usually formed by personal experience and memories of when we were students. However, those personal preferences are not always underpinned by solid research and that leads to gaps when laying the foundation for lifelong learning and academic success for our students.

“Although it may not always be easy or comfortable, and it may take a bit more preparation time, evidence-based instruction is key to delivering eff ective education programs – especially literacy instruction.” Still, she adds: “This is only true if we apply this in an authentic manner. Evidence-based and data-driven are two very popular terms that are oft en used as empty buzz words to please the audience. Evidencebased best practice allows us to benchmark against proven standards in order to provide bett er results. So, we need to know the standards and we need to consider how these standards and benchmarks may change as new research comes to light.

“When this happens, we should be ready and willing to adapt, which means we need to be informed and knowledgeable. Lasting, eff ective change is not possible otherwise.”

There is a caveat, according to Bekker: “Best practice does not mean one-size-fi ts-all. Programs must diff erentiate and adjust to individual student needs. I also believe best practice in an educational sett ing should not just be focused on academic outcomes but should also focus on social and behavioural needs.”

“Take into account, for example, a student’s home environment. One of the strategies within

Kiwi Teaching Planner

2023

Images courtesy of Edumaxi

The Kiwi Teaching Planner is one of the most comprehensive primary and intermediate education resources available for teachers.

Numbers are limited so don’t miss out on arguably the best tool for teachers to plan their year along with lots of useful teaching gems found within its covers.

Effortlessly incorporate Te Reo into your teaching with ample language resources including special days, waiata and phrases.

Get yours today!

evidence-based reading instruction may be a focus on phonemic awareness. However, the child who comes from a book- or reading-deprived home environment may need much more exposure and practice to master phonemic awareness than the child who comes from a culturally rich environment where parents communicate with them and read to them oft en.

“We are lucky in New Zealand for the fact that the Ministry of Education provides us with plenty of information on current research and we have plenty of professional development opportunities. However, it is also important to ensure we broaden our view and stay up-to-date with what is happening around the globe. “As I mentioned, it is not acceptable any longer to teach to the middle of the curve, but it is important to take individual students’ needs into consideration. On the fl ipside, this puts tremendous stress on teachers because it increases preparation time exponentially, and this is where data and technology can support literacy education. It is not enough to merely have data on each student, but it is critical to be able to gain insights from that data. This technology should enable teachers to more eff ectively present each student with the best learning solution possible. It may not always be feasible, but it is surely something to strive for.” The IT Education Company NZ’s Support and Training specialist John Kennedy has observed that “research-proven literacy development resources feature a structured approach to literacy development, that is based upon many decades of the study of the science of reading”. He explains: “A good resource will be adaptive and enable every student to progress at their own rate, with a suitable balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.”

Literacy is foundational as students engage with reading in nearly every area of the curriculum, “hence any improvements in literacy outcomes will have signifi cant benefi ts for the student in the school and subsequent life,” Kennedy confi rms. “Educators are increasingly moving towards a Structured Literacy approach to teaching reading. The advantage of this approach, over more traditional whole language practices is that it ensures students have a solid foundation in reading skills through a structured sequential development of skills. “With all the gaps plugged in, students are well placed to extend their reading experience.” He adds: “Schools looking to enhance literacy outcomes should be considering resources that are not only evidence-based but taken to the next step of being research-proven. This extra critical stage in program development provides more confi dence in its effi cacy and that it has been found to result in signifi cant advantage in students gains under scientifi c scrutiny. “The resources should pretest students to ensure that each student is placed at an appropriate starting level, dependent upon their current skills. Students should then be challenged to progress in a variety of skill area’s concurrently, e.g., phonics and comprehension tasks that complement each other.” In addition: “The resource should be adaptive and automatically off er additional, personalised, scaff olded support to students when they struggle. If the student does not respond successfully to this scaff olding the resource should alert teachers so that they can engage further with student to overcome the challenge. “Online programs have the advantage of quickly adapting to at home use when needed, so teachers can monitor student development remotely in real time and students can work at appropriate skill levels, at their own pace.”

© stock.adobe.com

 Literacy acceleration for all year 1-6 students  Adaptive, blended learning

Research-Proven, Structured Literacy Solu�ons

Lexia’s digital-centric solutions support teachers to meet the varied learning needs of their students. Supporting print resources included.

Free School Trials 03-5280094 | www.itecnz.co.nz  Remediation for years 7+  Word, grammar and comprehension strands