Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’s proposal to revamp the state’s reading education program was advanced out of an Iowa Senate Education Committee panel on the bill Tuesday, 2-1, with Iowa Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, opposed to the bill.
Senate Study Bill 3155 would require colleges to train teachers on the “science of reading,” require a passing score on the “foundation of reading” test to graduate teaching programs, teachers to pass the test to obtain a teaching license, and invest $9.2 million in training and testing for current educators on the program.
The proposal would also increase parental involvement in literacy education by requiring schools to send notice to parents if the student is not proficient in reading by third grade. Parents could then opt to retain their students in the third grade for another year.
The bill specified that the curriculum and testing for future educators are to be based on the Massachusetts state literacy program.
Iowa House lawmakers voted the House version of the bill out of the House Education Committee late Tuesday evening.
Quirmbach, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Education Committee, said he was opposed to the bill because it created a hurdle for future educators. Quirmbach said passing a test doesn’t show a teacher can properly teach literacy.
“Written tests do not do a particularly good job at predicting future success in the classroom,” Quirmbachsaid. “It would wind up excluding some people who could in fact succeed very well in the classroom. So, we need to consider things like student teaching success, other classroom preparation at the university level, and so forth.”
Iowa Sens. Chris Cournoyer, R-Le Claire, and Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, agreed with Quirmbach’s concern about creating barriers and emphasized the need to prevent the worsening of a teacher shortage. Rozenboom, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, committed to working on drafting amendments to the bill before it is passed.
“I know most of you rather well, and I know what your passion is for teaching kids and teaching kids how to read, which is so foundational,” Rozenboom said. “So I think we’re all agreed on what the objective is here and that’s good.”
Iowa is the only state that doesn’t require a reading instruction test to earn an education degree or obtain a teaching license.
Reynolds introduced her science of reading program in her Condition of the State Address on Jan. 9 in hopes of improving Iowa’s faltering test scores. According to state testing, 35 percent of Iowa third graders are not proficient in reading.
“This multi-prong approach will ensure that every school, that every child, has the opportunity to succeed,” said in her Jan. 9 address. “Improving our education system isn’t just about providing more resources; sometimes it’s about getting out of the way.”
Margaret Buckton, a lobbyist with the Urban Education Network of Iowa and Rural School Advocates of Iowa, said instead of placing high stakes on the test results, current teachers report the data back to districts for professional development.
Buckton said she worries that placing high stakes on the test could worsen the state’s teacher shortage.
Melissa Peterson with the Iowa State Education Association said reimplementing teacher assessments could give teachers “whiplash” after recently removing licensure testing for educators in 2022.
