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by on NJ Spotlight News
As many New Jersey students are struggling to read at their grade level, the state is taking steps to improve literacy instruction beginning next school year, including screening students for reading deficiencies at least twice a year.
Under a new law, the state Department of Education released guidance for schools about how to best administer universal literacy screeners and use the data to improve student learning. The department is planning to release another document with instructions for selecting high-quality instructional materials in the coming months. Advocates who have been pushing for more evidence-based literacy practices in schools said the new guidelines are an important step but they must be implemented with fidelity to make a difference.
Less than half of third-grade students met or exceeded expectations in English Language Arts based on assessment results from spring 2024. Scores are lower for students who are Black and Hispanic, as well as for students with disabilities, multilingual learners and economically disadvantaged students.
“By third grade, students typically shift from learning to read to reading to learn, making early literacy intervention especially critical,” Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer told lawmakers at a recent hearing.
Who will be screened?
Students in kindergarten through third grade will be screened twice a year to determine a student’s reading proficiency. The guidance from the state, which is based on recommendations from a group of educators and experts, tells districts to consider going beyond the legal requirement and screen students three times a year if possible. Screening is also suggested for older students who are not reading at grade level.
Screening is used to help identify and address reading challenges before they become long-term issues. Without early intervention, struggling readers are more likely to have behavioral problems, drop out of school or become involved in the correctional system, according to research cited in the guidance.
Teachers can use screening data to understand where a particular student needs help and then target instruction to improve a certain skill.
The guidance document gives criteria to help districts pick an effective screening tool, including whether the chosen tool assesses research-based aspects of reading and is easy to administer and score. It also gives advice to school leaders on how to prepare for screening and monitor progress for students who are receiving intervention.
The working group on student literacy suggested the department provide a clear list of universal screening assessments that meet the criteria to make it easier for school districts to pick one. The state did not include a list in its official recommendations.
Paula White, executive director of advocacy group JerseyCAN, said including a list or example would have helped school districts speed up selection and implementation with under four months to select and learn how to use a new screening tool before the school year starts in September.
Getting families involved
The state also recommended practices for family involvement, which has been shown to be important in student learning. Within 30 days of screening, parents or guardians must receive written notification explaining their child’s score and how it compares to grade-level norms. The data must also be reported to the Department of Education.
“The tool is going to be only as powerful as how we use the data,” said former special education teacher Dawn De Lorenzo. “I’ve seen districts screen and then fail to act on the data or wait too long to intervene, and that’s a missed opportunity.”
De Lorenzo said the framework is a “huge step forward” despite being long overdue. It will bring clarity and consistency for districts, she said.
The new state requirements come with two literacy grant opportunities that will run from June to May 2026. The grants total $5.25 million and are funded in the current state budget. One grant will support high-quality literacy screening, and another will help schools use the screening data to improve their literacy instruction.
Reading proficiency declined during the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to recover in many school districts. Even before schools turned to online learning, many students moved on to fourth grade without the ability to read on grade level. Gov. Phil Murphy said in his 2025 State of the State address that improving literacy rates would become a focus of his administration.
Literacy coaches
The Department of Education recently created the Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery, required under state law, to focus on literacy and academic recovery following the pandemic. Natalie Franzi Dougherty, former supervisor of elementary education in Metuchen, is running the new office.
White said adding at least 10 literacy coaches to support teachers under the new office would ease the implementation of the new requirements. Coaches provide job-embedded support to teachers with classroom observation and feedback, making them the “gold standard” of professional development, White said. JerseyCAN is asking state lawmakers to add money to the budget for coaches, which would cost at least $3 million. Ideally, the state would pay for up to 30 coaches, which would cost between $5 and $10 million, White said.
The literacy coaches, plus three other policy suggestions related to reading strategies and intervention plans, would “turbocharge and help the existing legislation to gain momentum so it is implemented as seamlessly and painlessly as possible,” White said.
In The Change Project, NJ Spotlight News examined methods for improving reading instruction that have shown promise in New Jersey and across the country, including universal screeners and evidence-based instruction. De Lorenzo, a former fourth-grade teacher at Union Township Middle School, invited NJ Spotlight News into her classroom for a small-group lesson on reading.
She keeps in touch with many of her students’ families, even after she stopped being their teacher. The students who spoke with NJ Spotlight News last year are now succeeding in general education classrooms after receiving evidence-based reading instruction in a small-group setting, De Lorenzo said.
Parent communication and involvement have contributed to their success, according to De Lorenzo. Families don’t always know the terminology or acronyms that are used in education, so it’s important for teachers to share information in a way that’s easy to understand, she said.
“There’s a tremendous amount of information being disseminated to parents,” De Lorenzo said. “They have to be brought on board… and they have to be part of the solution.”