Language and Literacy

Intermediate Academic Content and Literacy for English Learners: Evidence-Based Facilitator Guides

This series of facilitator guides walks through four evidence-based recommendations for improving academic content and literacy for English learning students in grades 4-8. These guides are helping instructional leaders deliver consistent, research-backed professional development to teachers across the state.

Literacy: What's the Latest Research?

This brief seeks to provide a practical, accessible update on the latest literacy research to help translate the evidence to classroom practice. The brief summarizes recent developments in literacy research on supporting and motivating multilingual learners and students with dyslexia and discusses their implications for practitioners.

Literacy Leads, Content Follows, Students Thrive: Advice for Grades 4-8 Literacy Leaders in Disrupted Environments

This resource offers guidance to help teachers adapt to working in multiple modes with increased flexibility and inventiveness while focusing instruction on the essential literacy skills needed to learn subject area content. Resources with evidence-based practices are linked throughout, providing “one-stop” access to seminal documents.

Literacy Leads, Setting Follows: Advice for Grades 1-3 Literacy Leaders in Disrupted Environments

This is one in a series of guides for educators—principals, coaches, literacy specialists—who lead literacy efforts in their schools. This interactive resource offers strategies to use for literacy instruction in remote and hybrid environments as educators navigate the challenge of disruptions and lost learning time

Evidence-Based Practices for Improving Adolescent Literacy: Facilitator Guides

In partnership with the Idaho State Department of Education (ISDE), the Region 17 Comprehensive Center developed this toolkit to provide consistent training across Idaho on evidence-based strategies for improving adolescent literacy. The toolkit is based on four recommendations in this practice guide from the Institute of Education Sciences. For each recommendation, there is a facilitator’s guide, PowerPoint presentation, and handouts.

Rubric for District English Learner Programs

A district’s instructional program for English learners has many components, including professional development, choosing appropriate instructional materials and effective instructional strategies, meeting the social and academic needs of English learners, family outreach and involvement, and others. This research-based tool helps districts assess their English learner program and optimize their support for English learner students.

Promoting Success for Teachers of English Learners through Structured Observations

To help ensure that all students have equitable access to well-prepared, effective teachers, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) created two working groups composed of leaders of state education agencies and school districts, as well as staff members from the American Institutes for Research, CCSSO and Education Northwest, to integrate attributes and exemplars of effective teaching of English learners into two widely used teacher evaluation and support systems: the Danielson Framework for Teaching and the Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model.

English Learners Success Forum (ELSF)

The mission of the ELSF is to collaborate with field-leading researchers, district leaders, teachers, content creators, and education funders to improve the supply and accessibility of high-quality K–12 mainstream instructional materials that address the linguistic and cultural needs of ELs while building smart demand to reach educators at scale—all with the goal of providing ELs full access to grade-level content and quality learning.

State Policy Levers for Improving Literacy

Although recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores are significantly higher than those in 1992 when NAEP began, the dip in trajectory for all students except those at the highest level of ability is a cause for concern. As state policymakers, especially those in state education agencies reflect on their 2019 NAEP reading scores, there are several validated steps to take in prekindergarten through grade 3 to ensure reading success and several implementation questions to address.

The National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL)

The NCIL is a partnership among literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers, with funding from the United States Department of Education. Its mission is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia.

Guide and Checklists for a School Leader’s Walkthrough during Literacy Instruction in Grades 4–12

This tool was developed to assist school leaders in observing specific research-based practices during literacy instruction in grade 4–12 classrooms and students’ independent use or application of those practices. The tool aims to help school leaders conduct brief and frequent walkthroughs throughout the school year.

National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition & Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA)

Authorized under Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition & Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA) supports the U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) in its mission to respond to Title III educational needs, and implement NCLB as it applies to English learners (ELs).

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