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Literacy Development

Statewide Literacy Goal

In February of 2022, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) published Indiana’s Priorities for Early Literacy, which presented a rigorous analysis and set of goals to address the concern of literacy rates for Hoosier students. This plan presented a vision and mission for the future of Indiana’s literacy accomplishments, which include an emphasis on science of reading, a term used to describe the body of research on reading, its development, and best practices for its instruction.

During the 2023 legislative session, Indiana legislated a definition of the science of reading.

IC 20-18-2-17.5 defines science of reading as:

a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research that:

(1)  requires the explicit, systematic inclusion of the following five (5) essential components:

  • (A)   Phonemic awareness.
  • (B)   Phonics.
  • (C)   Fluency.
  • (D)   Vocabulary.
  • (E)   Comprehension;

(2)   is supported by evidence that informs:

  • (A)   how proficient reading and writing develop;
  • (B)   why some students have difficulty with reading and writing; and
  • (C)  how to effectively assess and teach reading and writing to improve outcomes for all students; and

(3)  has a demonstrated record of success, and when implemented, leads to increased student competency in the areas of:

  • (A)   phonemic awareness;
  • (B)   phonics;
  • (C) reading fluency;
  • (D) vocabulary development;
  • (E) oral language skills;
  • (F) reading comprehension; and
  • (G) writing and spelling.

Early Literacy Initatives

Early Literacy Endorsement

Indiana’s Early Literacy Endorsement is legislatively-required for those who plan to renew a Professional Educator License while teaching literacy to PK through grade five students. This endorsement was developed to ensure that Indiana educators have the necessary skills and knowledge in science of reading to best serve our students and ensure 95% of third grade students can read by 2027.

To support Indiana’s statewide goal of ensuring 95% of third grade students can read by 2027, House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1558 (2023) required the Indiana State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish a required early literacy endorsement for future teachers applying for an initial Professional Educator License covering the Pre-K-5 grade span or special education after June 30, 2025. To further strengthen the professional knowledge of educators who already hold an existing Pre-K-5 or special education license, Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 1 (2024) revised Indiana Code (IC) 20-28-5-19.7 to also require current teachers to add the early literacy endorsement at the time of their license renewal that falls on or after July 1, 2027. SEA 1 also includes a new section, IC 20-28-5-19.8, which details how an educator may apply for a waiver that provides a one year extension to meet the early literacy endorsement requirements in some cases, which IDOE must submit in a report to the Legislative Council by a specified date. This legislation also requires instructional coaches to have an early literacy endorsement beginning July 1, 2025, for schools with an IREAD pass rate below 70%.

General Guidance

Professional Development Support

Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary 5205 Exam

LVIS Application for Early Literacy Endorsement

The Indiana Department of Education’s (IDOE’s) Priorities for Early Literacy and other literacy initiatives are organized below by age and grade-level bands containing additional, in-depth literacy resources.

  • Early Literacy: Infancy to Pre-Kindergarten
  • Primary Grade Literacy: Kindergarten to Grade 5
    • In alignment with Indiana’s Priorities for Early Literacy, IDOE has partnered with Center for Vibrant Schools at Marian University to provide educators, parents, and caregivers the Science of Reading and Dyslexia Toolkit. This collection of resources on the IN Learning Lab is intended to provide detailed information about reading development and acquisition, evidence-based reading instruction and intervention, including recommended approaches for dyslexia intervention, and the areas of literacy.
    • 2023 ELA Frameworks: This collection contains the 2023 ELA Frameworks for the Indiana Academic Standards. The frameworks linked in the IN Learning Lab are intended to guide best practices in instruction and translate standards into learning opportunities for students.
    • Science of Reading - Word Recognition: Learn more about the progression of development related to phonological awareness to phonemic awareness, print concepts to orthographic awareness, and alphabetic principle to structure analysis.
    • Science of Reading - Language Comprehension: Discover the progression of development related to receptive and expressive oral language, syntax, vocabulary and semantics, the role of knowledge, and verbal reasoning.
    • Benefits and Costs of Whole Group and Small Group: Learn more about using a data-driven problem-solving process to maximize instruction for improving student outcomes.
    • Implementing MTSS to Improve Student Outcomes: Time will be spent learning how to use a problem-solving approach to planning interventions, review data and problem-solve to develop intervention plans, intensify instruction, and organize and plan small group instruction.
    • Visit IDOE’s Dyslexia webpage for resources and guidance related to learning characteristics related to dyslexia.
    • IDOE’s High-Quality Curricular Materials Advisory Lists
    • The Reading League’s Compass: provides reliable and understandable guidance for a variety of targeted stakeholders.
  • Adolescent and Secondary Literacy: Grade 6 to Grade 12
    • As students progress through the intermediate and upper grade levels, literacy demands increase. Students must be able to read and comprehend text from a variety of genres and meaningfully communicate in written and spoken language on a range of topics and purposes. IDOE’s mission is to provide competency for students to ensure their success in institutions of higher education, the workforce, and/or other postsecondary opportunities.
    • In alignment with Indiana’s Priorities for Early Literacy, IDOE has partnered with Center for Vibrant Schools at Marian University to provide educators, parents, and caregivers the Science of Reading and Dyslexia Toolkit. This collection of resources on the IN Learning Lab is intended to provide detailed information about reading development and acquisition, evidence-based reading instruction and intervention, including recommended approaches for dyslexia intervention, and the areas of literacy.
    • The Science of Reading for Secondary Teachers: The Science of Reading is a body of knowledge that informs which skills students need to develop in order to become proficient readers and writers and how educators can design this instruction to maximize student outcomes. This knowledge is important across all grade levels and especially critical for teachers of secondary students in order to support students with significant gaps between their current performance levels and course content and learning objectives.
    • M.S. ELA: Implementing MTSS to Improve Student Outcomes: Discover how to use a problem-solving approach to planning interventions, review data and problem-solve to develop intervention plans, intensify instruction, and organize and plan small group instruction.
    • Science of Reading - Word Recognition: Learn more about the progression of development related to phonological awareness to phonemic awareness, print concepts to orthographic awareness, and alphabetic principle to structure analysis.
    • Science of Reading - Language Comprehension: Discover the progression of development related to receptive and expressive oral language, syntax, vocabulary and semantics, the role of knowledge, and verbal reasoning.
    • The Reading League Adolescent Literacy: On The Reading League Compass web page, these resources provide support for educators on how to support older readers with the science of reading.
    • IDOE’s High-Quality Curricular Materials Advisory Lists
  • Additional Literacy Resources

    The Indiana Learning Lab provides a platform for Science of Reading and other English/Language Arts resources accessible to all IN educators, parents, and caregivers. A free account is required to explore and access resources on the Indiana Learning Lab. After creating an account, learn how to navigate the platform here. Below are links to several helpful resources.

    Text Complexity

    All text has a level of complexity or readability that affects the way the reader interacts with it. Texts such as novels, articles, poems, short stories, and textbooks have wide ranges of complexity that are appropriate at different grade levels and for a variety of purposes. Educators can decide whether a text is appropriate for a student by examining the text and considering the instructional needs of the student.

    Educators should review the quantitative measures (e.g., word length, sentence complexity) and qualitative measures (e.g., levels of meaning) for a text, as well as consider the reader and task (e.g., purpose, student motivation), before deciding whether the text is appropriate for a student. Please review these resources for more information about text complexity:

    • This Guide to Text Complexity provides greater detail on this topic and how educators may approach this topic in their classrooms.
    • Free access to MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub(R) is available to all Indiana educators through an agreement with the state of Indiana. Educators who set up an account will have access to all tools within the Lexile Hub(R), including the Lexile Analyzer(R), which can be used to generate quantitative measures for a variety of texts.

    Access guidance regarding the 2024 Reading Plan and dyslexia reporting requirements here.