IRA Offers Certificate of Distinction for Teacher Preparation Programs in Reading

“The International Reading Association has long been concerned with the preparation of reading teachers and reading specialists,” says Jack Cassidy, chair of the Quality Undergraduate Elementary and Secondary Teacher Education in Reading (QUESTER) Task Force. A new Certificate of Distinction program offered by IRA provides an opportunity for the Association to recognize quality initial preparation programs that produce teachers who teach reading well.

Recent research offers compelling evidence for the impact of high-quality teacher preparation in reading on:

the efficient and effective transition from preservice candidate through the first years of teaching, and

the implementation of evidence-based teaching practices that are linked to student reading achievement in all content areas.

With this in mind, IRA has initiated a review process for the reading component of professional preparation programs for classroom teachers at both the elementary and secondary levels. The Certificate of Distinction recognizes only distinguished programs that consistently prepare well-qualified reading teachers.

“The Certificate of Distinction offers institutions an opportunity to showcase their programs for the preparation of classroom teachers to teach reading,” Cassidy says. It also allows them to provide a service to the profession as a whole because IRA intends to examine the qualities of programs that achieve the Certificate of Distinction in order to enrich the knowledge base about highly effective reading preparation programs.

The Certificate of Distinction is based on the work of the National Commission on Excellence in Elementary Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction, IRA’s Accreditation Task Force, and the IRA/Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Standards Task Force. Putting all this information together was the responsibility of QUESTER, which is comprised of leading authorities in reading, some of whom represent agencies such as the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

“All universities are eager to see that their programs are high quality,” Cassidy says. “The Certificate of Distinction will provide qualifying universities with an unbiased stamp of approval from an outside source.”

Institutions that prepare elementary or secondary classroom teachers that believe their programs meet the criteria for a Certification of Distinction are invited to submit an application. The review process will consist of two stages: a review of a written program description and, if that is approved, an on-site review.

The review committee will look for programs that meet the following six standards:

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogy—The program content and pedagogy prepare candidates with knowledge and teaching skills necessary to help all students learn to read.

Standard 2: Assessing Candidate Performance and Program Quality—The program has an assessment system that documents that candidates meet Standard 1 and that the reading preparation program meets the remaining standards.

Standard 3: Apprenticeships, Field Experiences, and Clinical Practice—The reading program and its school collaborators design, implement, and evaluate field experiences and clinical practice that ensure candidates meet Standard 1. Institutions must provide evidence that their programs offer field-based and/or clinical experiences, specifically in the teaching of reading.

Standard 4: Diversity—The program designs, implements, and evaluates curricula and experiences for candidates to ensure that school collaborators and higher education faculty work effectively with diverse candidates and diverse students in P–12 schools.

Standard 5: Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development—Program faculty meet IRA’s Standards for Reading Professionals, 2003 for teacher educators and model best professional practices in scholarship, service, and teaching.

Standard 6: Program Governance and Resources—The reading program has the resources, including financial, personnel, technology, and facilities, to meet Standards 1 through 5.

If your institution is interested in applying to be part of the pilot program, please contact Gail Keating at IRA headquarters before May 25.

There will be a charge for applying for the Certificate of Distinction, but this fee will be waived for participants in the pilot program. This means that pilot participants will receive a free analysis of their programs and could possibly be among the first programs in the United States to receive a Certificate of Distinction.

Further information about IRA’s Certificate of Distinction program is available on the IRA website at www.reading.org/resources/issues/reports/distinction_intro.html.

IRA offers Certificate of Distinction for teacher preparation programs in reading. (April 2007). Reading Today, 24(5), 8.