OAR 584-420-0015: Literacy: Program Standards

(1) Purpose: These standards are designed to guide the preparation of Kindergarten through 5th Grade teachers on evidence-based practices for teaching literacy. These standards are in concert with the following two Oregon laws: (a) 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 (b) 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. (2) Scope: The requirements for instruction on Literacy Program Standards apply to Oregon EPPs preparing candidates for: (a) Elementary-Multiple Subjects (b) Reading Intervention. (c) Special Education: Generalist. (3) Oregon educator preparation programs as provided in subsection (2) must provide the necessary program components that will enable candidates to: (a) Acquire the knowledge, skills, abilities, professional dispositions, and cultural competencies necessary to meet the standards established in this rule, the state standards for Teacher Preparation Programs in the identified endorsement area as defined in OAR Chapter 584, Division 420, and the TSPC Program Review and Standards Handbook. (b) Receive instruction aligned with dyslexia education standards that adhere to the knowledge and practice standards established by a recognized international organization specializing in dyslexia. (c) Demonstrate proficiency as necessary to meet the standards established in this rule through a Commission-approved measure. (4) Dispositions: Candidates demonstrate professional dispositions that support equity, ethical practice, and social-emotional development. These dispositions reflect essential beliefs and awareness necessary for evidence-based literacy instruction and should guide all instructional decisions. Candidates: (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 reading and writing, unlike oral language, does not develop naturally and requires explicit, systematic instruction to ensure proficiency in literacy; (d) Uphold evidence-based and rooted in ever-evolving research findings; (e) Recognize the cognitive and social-emotional benefits of multilingualism and multiliteracy, and the benefits of designing instruction that builds on the home languages and cultures of emergent multilingual students, including those who bring Indigenous languages and English language varieties to the classroom: (f) Believe that all students, regardless of ability, language background, or other individual differences: (A) Learn to read and write when provided with systematic, explicit instruction using evidence-based practices; (B) Deserve access to grade-level content, texts, tasks, and experiences with appropriate support; and, (g) Value that Indigenous communities center story and oral language, as they have since Time Immemorial, passing information and carrying meaning and connection over generations without transcription or writing. (5) Standard 1: Knowledge of Literacy Acquisition & Instruction: Candidates know, understand, and use evidence-based practices to support literacy acquisition and instruction. (a) Literacy Acquisition - Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (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 - to support literacy development. (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 literacy acquisition substandards impact and apply to the learning and experiences of multilingual learners and students with disabilities. (i) Multilingual learners (ii) Students with disabilities (b) Instruction - Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Understand the general principles and practices of structured language and literacy teaching, including explicit, systematic, cumulative, and teacher-directed instruction. (B) Understand 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 instructional substandards impact and apply to the learning and experiences of multilingual learners and students with disabilities. (i) Multilingual learners (ii) Students with disabilities (E) Analyze and select high quality instructional materials that: (i) Align with literacy standards and general principles of effective literacy instruction. (ii) Support culturally responsive literacy instruction by including characters, subjects, settings, and authors which are reflective of the abilities, identities, and cultures of the full range of students and their communities. (F) Programs of study for candidates shall include: (i) Practice of evidence-based early literacy instructional techniques prior to field-based experiences working with students; and, (ii) Observation of models of culturally and linguistically sustaining, evidence-based early literacy practice in prekindergarten and elementary classrooms. (6) Standard 2: Literacy Foundational Skills— Candidates know, understand, and use the core components of foundational literacy instruction, recognizing the reciprocal relationships among these components and between foundational skills and other literacy skills, as described in Standard 3, to support effective literacy instruction. (a) Oral Language—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Understand the primary role oral language plays in laying the groundwork for a child’s ability to read and write. (B) Understand the developmental sequence of oral language common to all spoken languages. (C) Design classroom environments that foster student-to-student interaction, emphasizing oral language skills through active listening and speaking opportunities. (D) Understand procedures for clearly communicating with students using academic language and vocabulary. (E) Understand 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) Understand that all language varieties are linguistically equal and recognize the importance of creating a classroom environment that respects and values diverse language varieties and languages in literacy instruction. (b) Phonological Awareness —Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Identify, classify, and compare all consonant and vowel phonemes of English. (B) Identify and access 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) Understand the progression of phonological awareness skill development across ages and grades, including phonemic-awareness difficulties. (D) Apply principles of effective phonemic-awareness instruction focusing on segmenting and blending of phonemes. (c) Decoding and Word Recognition —Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Understand the structure of English orthography and the patterns and rules that inform the teaching of single- and multisyllabic regular word reading. (B) Understand the principles of explicit instruction of letter names and letter/ sound associations to ensure automaticity. (C) Understand the principles of effective decoding, word recognition, and spelling instruction for single and multisyllabic words, including the general and specific goals of such instruction. (D) Understand the evidence-based procedures for teaching irregular words. (E) Identify and differentiate types and purposes of texts, emphasizing the role of decodable text in teaching beginning readers. (d) Fluency—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Demonstrate an understanding of how fluent word-level skills in automatic word reading, orthographic mapping, oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, and student engagement . (B) Demonstrate the ability to select and apply varied evidence-based techniques and methods for building reading fluency. (C) Identify instructional strategies and progress-monitoring practices that advance text reading fluency as part of normal reading development. (7) Standard 3: Vocabulary, Background Knowledge, Writing, and Comprehension—Teaching candidates demonstrate the knowledge and skills to develop students’ vocabulary, background knowledge, writing, and comprehension through evidence-based, culturally responsive practices. They integrate linguistic systems, build on students’ experiences, and apply explicit strategies to support literacy development and equitable learning outcomes. (a) Vocabulary—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Demonstrate knowledge of the critical role of vocabulary development and vocabulary knowledge in oral and written language comprehension including the ability to develop instructional implications of students having varying levels of vocabulary. (B) Demonstrate knowledge of the role and characteristics of direct, explicit methods of vocabulary instruction. (C) Understand the role and characteristics of indirect (contextual) methods of vocabulary instruction. (D) Understand the interconnected nature of vocabulary development across the systems of language, including phonology, orthography, syntax, semantics, morphology, etymology, the relationships among them, and how to integrate these systems into instruction. (b) Background Knowledge—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Knowledge of the critical role of background knowledge, acquired through oral language or print, in enabling students to make meaning of and comprehend verbal language and text. (B) Understanding of strategies to build on students’ family and life experiences, languages, and cultural knowledge, creating a meaningful context for acquiring new knowledge to support comprehension in reading, listening, communication, and writing. (C) Understanding of 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—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Factors that contribute to students’ ability to make meaning from text and how to design activities that support comprehension development for each major genre: informational text, narrative text, and argumentation. (B) How to analyze and select instructional materials, including high-quality literacy curricula and supplemental resources, in terms of their alignment with standards, general principles of effective literacy instruction, and their reflection of the abilities, identities, and cultures of the full range of students and their communities. (C) The critical role of sentence comprehension in listening and reading comprehension. (D) The importance of explicit comprehension strategy instruction, supported by evidence-based practices, and the teacher’s role as an active mediator in guiding students through text comprehension processes to build meaning and critical thinking. (d) Writing—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) The reciprocal relationship between reading and writing and the importance of explicitly teaching this connection to students. (B) The 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 for teaching written spelling and punctuation, ensuring alignment with current research and explicit instruction practices. (D) How to connect writing instruction and practice to the texts and content students are reading and 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. (8) Standard 4: Assessment & Data-Based Decision-Making—Teaching candidates must demonstrate understanding of assessment principles, interpret and apply data to guide instruction, and effectively communicate results. They must utilize evidence-based practices, progress monitoring, and a holistic approach to support diverse learners, ensuring responsive, goal-oriented instruction within an MTSS framework. (a) Assessment—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (A) Demonstrate understanding of 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) Understand how to 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) Demonstrate knowledge of and commitment to using 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 the use of graphing techniques to track student progress. (F) Demonstrate knowledge of how to use informal diagnostic surveys to assess phonological and phoneme awareness, decoding skills, oral reading fluency, comprehension, spelling, and writing in practice. (G) Understand how to 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—Candidates demonstrate the ability to: (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 a Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. (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) Conduct a holistic, assets-based analysis of multilingual students when using data from multiple languages to inform instruction. (9) Standard 5: Supporting Multilingual Learners—Teaching candidates must understand multilingual learners' language development, use evidence-based strategies for instruction, and leverage technology effectively. They also recognize the benefits of dual immersion and developing home language alongside English to support academic success. Specifically, candidates must: (a) Demonstrate understanding of the language and literacy development of multilingual learners. (b) Understand the stages of second language acquisition and how that information guides planning for instruction. (c) Demonstrate the ability to teach emerging multilingual students the key components of language and literacy: phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, spelling, and writing skills. (d) Understand and commit to using evidence-based research on how best to teach multilingual learners. (e) Understand how to 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. (10) Standard 6: Students with Reading Difficulties, Reading Disabilities & Dyslexia—Teaching candidates must understand how to support students with reading disabilities, including dyslexia, by understanding their impact on literacy and applying inclusive, evidence-based practices. Specifically, candidates must: 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) Understand that the aims of literacy instruction apply to all children, and that through modifications, accommodations, supports, and technologies, every child must have access to literacy learning. (c) Understand how to administer, interpret, and apply screening and progress monitoring assessments for students who demonstrate characteristics that may predict or be associated with dyslexia. (d) Understand how to deliver documented and trackable support and evidence-based reading instruction to all students, including students who demonstrate characteristics that may predict or are associated with dyslexia. (e) Understand how to apply dyslexia assessment and instruction knowledge to pedagogical practice. (f) Understand how to Apply dyslexia assessment and instruction knowledge to pedagogical practice. (11) Standard 7: Students who are Gifted and Talented—Teaching candidates understand how to support gifted and talented students by applying evidenced-based instructional practices. Specifically, candidates must understand: (a) Understand how to apply OAR 584-420-0025 (7), (8), (9), and (10) for students who are gifted and talented. (b) How to access and use strategic instructional practices that deliver documented and trackable support, 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 and instructional strategies for gifted and talented learners who are also: (A) reluctant readers. (B) multilingual learners.