Virginia Literacy Act Provides Reading Intervention for All K–3 Students
Benchmark assessments of students at Virginia schools are beginning to reveal pandemic recovery after a multiyear, $418 million effort focused on literacy, accelerated learning, and student attendance. In August, the commonwealth’s deputy superintendent of teaching and learning updated educators about the successes and challenges.
Students were provided with high-intensity tutoring during and after school. Educators also accelerated the Virginia Literacy Act by using high-quality instructional materials, training teachers in evidence-based literacy instruction, and science-based reading research. Prioritizing attendance meant students were in school more often, resulting in additional learning.
Those school and district leaders who implemented the initiatives with fidelity saw the best results. Achievements included:
- 70 percent of school divisions showed improvement in grades 3–8 reading
- Students scoring high proficient/advanced increased 2.3 percent, and failing scores decreased 2.7 percent in grades 3–8 reading
- Student groups that have historically underperformed showed faster growth than their peers, including English learners, who grew at six times the rate of all students
- Chronic absenteeism fell 16 percent statewide with more than 40,000 students attending school more regularly
- Students who attended school 90 percent or more of the school year performed 19 percentage points higher than those who were chronically absent
Deepening Commitment to Literacy
The Virginia Literacy Act, effective for the 2024–2025 school year, requires leaders at the Virginia Department of Education to recommend instructional programs, including core, supplemental, and intervention resources. Members of the Virginia Board of Education will review these for approval.
The review process evaluates core, intervention, and supplemental materials to ensure they align with evidence-based literacy instruction, science-based reading research, and the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL).
The Virginia Literacy Act focuses on improving early literacy outcomes for the commonwealth’s youngest learners. As a result of the new legislation, the governor and members of the General Assembly have made additional investments in early reading to ensure schools and educators have the resources they need to improve outcomes.
The act provides reading intervention services to:
- K–3 students who demonstrate literacy gaps based on their performance on the SOL reading assessment or an early literacy screener provided and approved by the Virginia Department of Education
- A reading specialist, in collaboration with a teacher of any student who receives reading intervention services or develops, oversees, or monitors student progress on a reading plan
- Students in grades K–3 who receive reading intervention services will be assessed again at the end of the school year
- The act also establishes a process for using high-quality instructional materials. The Virginia Literacy Act requires:
- Students in grades K–3 receive core literacy instruction from an evidence-based literacy curriculum for the entire literacy block. If they do not successfully meet literacy benchmarks, they receive additional evidence-based instruction and interventions, as outlined in a student reading plan.
- All K–3 families have access to online evidence-based literacy instruction resources to support their child’s literacy development at home. Families may also participate in developing their child’s student reading plan.
- Teachers of grades K–3 must use an evidence-based literacy curriculum for the entire literacy block and assess student learning using approved literacy screeners routinely throughout the year. They should also use student-level data to inform whole-group instruction and individualized instruction and intervention.
- Teachers will also be provided pre-service and/or in-service preparation in evidence-based literacy instruction
According to the Approved Intervention Instructional Guide, 2024, three programs from Voyager Sopris Learning® have been approved for intervention in these cases:
· LANGUAGE! Live® approved use: This grade-5 program is approved as an intervention program for phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
o LANGUAGE! Live is a comprehensive literacy intervention for struggling students in grades 5–12 to help them reach literacy success, and is on the approved list of literacy interventions. Grounded in the science of reading with a blend of teacher-guided and online instruction, LANGUAGE! Live creates pathways for automatic word and text reading while simultaneously and strategically developing advanced literacy skills.
· Voyager Passport® approved use: This program is approved as an intervention program for phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
o Voyager Passport is a research-proven intervention for grades K–5. Through a blended, teacher-led format, students receive explicit and systematic instruction in the five essential components of reading, plus language and writing. Voyager Passport accelerates student literacy achievement by targeting critical skills and providing strategies learners need to become fluent, on-level readers. The program can be used for students in Tier 2 and Tier 3.
· REWARDS® approved use: The intermediate, second edition, is approved for phonics with a grade 4–5 emphasis.
o REWARDS is a powerful suite of short-term reading and writing interventions for struggling learners in grades 4–12. Designed specifically for adolescents, these interventions are research- and evidence-based. They focus on helping students decode multisyllabic words and comprehend content-area text. With explicit, teacher-led instruction, REWARDS provides students with new skills to become successful readers.
