For Immediate Release: April 16, 2023

Contact:
Tony Pals, tpals@aera.net
(202) 238-3235, (202) 288-9333 (cell)

Marla Koenigsknecht, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net
(202) 238-3233, (517) 803-1591 (cell)

AERA23 Study Snapshot: The Effects of Early Literacy Policies on Student Achievement

Study: “The Effects of Early Literacy Policies on Student Achievement”
Authors: John Westall (Michigan State University), Amy Cummings (Michigan State University)
Embargoed until: 12:01 a.m. CT Sunday, April 16

This paper will be presented at the place-based component of the AERA 2023 Annual Meeting. 
Session: Infrastructure for Accountability Policy and Practice
Date/Time: Sunday, April 16, 4:40 p.m. – 6:10 p.m. CT

Main Findings:

• State early literacy policies improve elementary students’ reading achievement on high-stakes tests, particularly in third grade and in states with comprehensive policies and third-grade retention requirements.
   
• There is suggestive evidence that early literacy policies modestly reduce racial and socioeconomic test-score gaps and have positive spillover effects on math achievement.
   
• While the policies improve performance on high-stakes tests, they fall short of improving literacy learning, as measured by low-stakes test scores, except in states with the most comprehensive policies.

Details:

• By 2021, 41 states and the District of Columbia had adopted early literacy policies with the aim of improving students’ literacy in grades K–3. The policies vary in content and intensity but share many core components, including early learning assessments beginning in kindergarten, evidence-based literacy instruction and interventions, parental involvement, and professional development for educators. Twenty-two states mandate retention for third graders who do not score high enough on reading assessments.
   
• The authors used national student assessment data from the Stanford Education Data Archive from 2009 to 2018 and the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 1992 to 2019, as well as information on state literacy policies from a database published by ExcelinEd in 2021.
   
• They found that having an early literacy policy improved elementary students’ performance on high-stakes reading assessments by roughly the equivalent of 7 percent to 14 percent of the annual academic growth typical of a third grader.
   
• Test-score gains appeared limited to elementary school students; there was little evidence of significant changes in reading performance in middle school.
   
• Positive effects were largest in states with comprehensive policies that offered a range of literacy supports for teachers and students, including third-grade retention for students whose state test scores indicated that they were behind in reading.
   
• The authors found suggestive evidence that early literacy policies reduced high-stakes reading test-score gaps between historically underserved students (i.e., economically disadvantaged and Black students) and their more advantaged peers. While the estimates are rough and small in magnitude, they suggest, at a minimum, that early literacy policies do not widen socioeconomic or racial reading achievement gaps on high-stakes tests.
   
• The authors tested whether early literacy policies improved learning or just test performance by estimating their effects on low-stake test scores, finding modest increases in only those states with the most comprehensive policies. 
   
• “We find compelling evidence of increases in reading achievement after early literacy policies are implemented,” said study coauthor Amy Cummings, an education policy doctoral student at Michigan State University. “However, the impacts appear to be short-term and depend on the content of the policy. States with comprehensive policies that offer a wide range of literacy supports for teachers and students see the strongest effects.”
   
• “While the policies appear to achieve their legislated goals of improving student reading achievement on high-stakes assessments, these improvements may not extend to overall literacy learning, as we see little evidence of improvement on low-stakes tests,” Cummings said. “The exception is in states with comprehensive policies, further illustrating that the content of early literacy policies matters.”

To request a copy of the working paper, or to talk to the study author, please contact AERA Communications: Tony Pals, Director of Communications, tpals@aera.net, cell: (202) 288-9333; Marla Koenigsknecht, Communications Associate, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net, cell: (517) 803-1591.

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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.