Measuring what matters: Kentucky’s path to better reading outcomes

Reading proficiency among Kentucky elementary school students was declining even before the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily upended in-person learning. Before COVID, half of Kentucky third graders did not score at or above proficiency in reading. Studies conducted in the pandemic’s wake showed that reading scores continued to decline among early learners.

In 2022, the Kentucky General Assembly passed the Read to Succeed Act, which was designed to improve reading outcomes by improving how educators deliver early literacy instruction.

Challenge

The Read to Succeed Act prescribed a variety of interventions, including educator professional learning and coaching, the use of high-quality instructional materials in Kentucky’s schools, and the realignment of teacher preparation materials according to evidence-based practices. But the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) needed to bring a data-driven approach to assessing whether these interventions and techniques drove improvements in teacher instruction and, ultimately, student outcomes.

To support accountability and help ensure the state-driven efforts are as effective as possible, the Kentucky Department of Education partnered with ICF, which assembled a team of researchers and subject-matter experts to collect and analyze data about the Read to Succeed Act’s implementation, outcomes, and impact.

Solution

ICF designed and conducted a robust mixed-methods evaluation to identify promising practices for implementation, make recommendations for mid-course adjustments, and assess educators’ progress in achieving the outcomes called for in the Read to Succeed Act. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods included:

• teacher and administrator surveys
• focus groups with teachers, administrators, literacy experts, and coaches
• observations of educator instruction
• student-level data obtained by the Kentucky Center for Statistics and other student reading assessment vendors

In particular, the ICF team tracked educators’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs over time to assess changes following the interventions and explored student outcomes and impact. These findings were then presented through reports, presentations, infographics, and summary briefs to KDE representatives and the general public.

Results 

Preliminary evidence suggests that the educators’ professional learning may be associated with positive changes in teacher beliefs, knowledge, and practices. For example, teachers who were in their second year of professional learning (in a two-year program), and had therefore been exposed to additional time in the program, showed significantly higher outcomes compared to those in their first year of the program, including:

• increased literacy knowledge
• increased beliefs supporting evidence-based literacy instruction
• greater confidence in their ability to implement evidence-based literacy instructional strategies in their classrooms

These findings were used by KDE to recruit additional teachers into the state’s professional learning offerings and build buy-in for the initiatives.

ICF has developed a positive, collaborative relationship with KDE staff, which has provided us with invaluable context related the Read to Succeed Act, including KDE’s literacy goals for educator and student learning.