T he latest report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) ranks Georgia College & State University’s Early Childhood Education program among the top 48 schools in the nation—and the only program in Georgia to go above and beyond standards set by literacy experts.

Georgia College earned an exemplary score for prepping teachers with the most-effective, scientifically based instructions for reading.

NCTQ’s 2023 ratings were published in “Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction.” Its grading system gave Georgia College an A+ for “exemplary coverage” when preparing candidates for Bachelor of Science in Early Education degrees.

“We’re delighted the Council has confirmed our consistent efforts to provide exceptional reading instruction for the teacher education program,” said Dr. Linda Bradley, program coordinator for Reading, Literacy and Language in the John H. Lounsbury College of Education at Georgia College. “We have revised our three-course sequence for teaching reading over the past four years in ways that incorporate the science of reading through evidence-based practices.”

“This national recognition verifies our strong focus on high-level teaching, the dedication of our faculty and the sense of community that’s fostered here for student success,” Bradley said.

In addition to Georgia College’s highly acclaimed early childhood education training, the university also contributes to child literacy through its Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy.  The Deal Center is the state’s designated research and training facility for advancing early language and literacy skills in children from birth to age 8.

The center’s key focus is to ensure all third-grade students read proficiently before entering fourth grade. Currently, only two of every five 8-year-olds are capable readers by the end of third grade, according to statistics at the center’s website.

If students aren’t reading proficiently by the end of third grade—a pivotal year—they’re four times more likely to drop out of high school, as shown by an Annie E. Casey Foundation study.

The Nation’s Report Card—issued by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2022—showed 37 percent of fourth graders in the United States scoring below basic reading levels—a substantial decline since the pandemic.

“An estimated 36 million adults in the U.S. continue to find reading difficult and may never reach proficiency,” Bradley said. “The way to influence change is through stronger reading programs and exceptional teachers throughout a child’s development.”

Literacy faculty at Georgia College are working with educators, administrators and policy makers to contribute to these improvements at local, state and national levels.

The NCTQ evaluated five components of scientifically-based reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. To get the coveted A+, a program must “go above and beyond a standard of adequate coverage.” A program must also avoid practices known to inhibit student reading progress.

The goal of NCTQ’s Teacher Prep Review is to ensure all K-12 students learn from qualified teachers. The organization consults with literacy experts, researchers and educators to redefine how teacher preparation programs are evaluated and ensure they align with the most recent evidence-backed research.

For most children to become successful readers, NCTQ research confirms a need for clear, step-by-step instructions grounded in the science of sound interpretation and comprehension. If all students had access to properly trained teachers, a literacy rate of 90% could be achieved, NCTQ reported.

About 27,000 programs in 2,000 institutions are responsible for training the nation’s 3 million teachers.

Being among the top 48 best programs in the nation “means our field-based cohort model—where preservice teachers spend a significant amount of time in classrooms practicing what they learned under the guidance of mentor leaders and literacy faculty—is working,” Bradley said.