Like most of the country, Utah student achievement levels took a hit during the 2020 pandemic. Since then, the Utah Legislature has developed early literacy benchmarks geared toward increasing our students’ literacy rates.
The first push came in 2022 when the Legislature passed Senate Bill 127 (SB 127), which established a goal for 70% of Utah’s K-3 students to hit grade-level reading benchmarks. That bill has since been superseded by Senate Bill 241 (SB 241), which ups the ante by requiring 80% of students to hit their benchmarks by 2030.
What else is in the bill?
SB 241 supports students who are not on track to meet the literacy goal with reading interventions. There’s also a provision for students who don’t reach benchmarks by the end of third grade to repeat the grade. The 2026-27 school year is the first year when these early literacy supports will be present in K-3 education.
I talked with a few local literacy experts about what parents and students should expect from the new initiative.
The science of reading and Acadience
Both SB 127 and SB 241 based their initiatives on the science of reading, which is a large, evidence-based collection of education research. The science of reading breaks literacy instruction into six individual literacy skills that help young readers gain proficiency.
According to Sydnee Dickson, a clinical professor at the University of Utah’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy and former state superintendent of public instruction, the science of reading approach meets students right where they are in their learning journeys.
“Having this framework makes it so clear. With any material that comes into the school, we can ask, ‘is it aligned, or is it not?’ and that saves not only taxpayer dollars, but teachers’ time,” she said. “It also keeps parents assured that the materials that are being used are aligned with evidence and research.”
Literacy benchmarks are determined by a progress monitoring test called Acadience Reading that K-3 students receive three times a year. Under SB 241, students who aren’t hitting grade-level benchmarks in Acadience will receive an Individualized Reading Plan (IRP). Christine Drummond, associate director of Elementary Core Learning at Granite School District thinks of IRPs like a literacy roadmap.
“They’re where we have to identify the skills that students are missing and then we provide targeted interventions to help students fill in those gaps so they can meet benchmark goals and learn to read,” she said.
Why K-3?
From a literacy perspective, grades K-3 are fundamental. “In our early grades, students are focused on learning to read, whereas in fourth and fifth grade the shift becomes reading to learn,” Drummond said.
Part of the funding from the initial literacy bill went to providing parents with more access to full-day kindergarten, which has made a difference. “The data is pretty clear that our kiddos that are in full-day kindergarten tend to outperform their peers in half-day, so now 95% of our students have access to full-day kindergarten,” Dickson said.
School rollout
The greatest challenges of any educational initiative come when the rubber meets the road. “We’ve been able to make sure there is equity across the state, and it’s a challenge, but it’s something that we can overcome by really figuring out what interventions work so that teachers aren’t defaulting to the same thing for every student,” Dickson said.
For students who are placed on IRPs, Granite School District supplements teacher resources by providing take-home literacy kits for each student. “We have kits that families can do at home that go out at the beginning and middle of the year,” Drummond said.
On the ballot
While Utah’s early literacy initiative bills have received bipartisan support, local leadership that continues to invest in Utah’s public education resources remains a priority. The Utah Education Association Political Action Committee (UEA-PAC) has released its list of endorsed candidates for this year’s midterm elections.
The UEA-PAC does plenty of legwork when it comes to these endorsements. After UEA members make their candidate recommendations, Utah public educators interview legislative candidates and UEA PAC interviews state board of education candidates.
How parents can help
Even something as simple as a goal to read for 20 minutes every night can go a long way in helping students build strong literacy skills. “Families being reflective of what literacy looks like in their homes and modeling literacy best practices themselves is important,” Dickson said. “Do they have books in their home? Can children see mom or dad with a book?”
A literate population is a successful population, which is why Utah’s early literacy goals aren’t just for those whose kids are in school. Local school districts have plenty of opportunities for community members to volunteer and help build literacy skills within their neighborhoods. “I think it’s going to take all of us working together to reach this goal that the state has put forth,” Drummond said.
