W&M researcher leads study on students’ literacy outcomes under Virginia Literacy Act
Elizabeth Talbott, professor and associate dean for research & faculty development in the School of Education, has been awarded a $978,904 research grant from the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education to conduct a longitudinal study of the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA). Talbott serves as principal investigator and project director; she and her team will study the effects of the VLA on the literacy achievement of all students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Virginia, particularly those who have experienced persistent gaps in achievement compared to their peers.
In 2022, Virginia legislators passed the bipartisan Virginia Literacy Act to close those achievement gaps. The VLA is designed to accelerate literacy achievement, ensure kindergarten through third grade learners meet reading benchmarks, support at-risk readers and provide instruction grounded in scientific research. To do this, educators are charged with implementing methods from the science of reading, informed by literacy science, learning science and instructional science.
“Our research team is well-positioned to study the Virginia Literacy Act,” said Talbott. “We have two outstanding methodologists, two outstanding literacy experts and an experienced leader in data analytics from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) collaborating on this project.”
Team members include Assistant Professor of Education and lead methodologist Amanda Simpfenderfer; Sarah J. Racz, statistical consultant from the University of Maryland; W&M Class of 1963 Associate Professor of Reading Education Kristin Conradi Smith; Devin M. Kearns, North Carolina State University Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy; and Xianxuan Xu, director of strategic analysis and research at the VDOE.
Professor Talbott is well-positioned to lead this research team, given her history of leadership in policy and advocacy with the Council for Exceptional Children and her recent research in evidence-based policy and practice to improve outcomes for students with and without disabilities.
The team plans to access data from Virginia’s longitudinal data system to track students’ literacy achievement from 2021-2028. This approach will allow them to study literacy growth before and after implementation of the VLA in 2023. The team will use data from this period to observe the effects of VLA policy for students from a range of demographic backgrounds and geographical locations, including rural, urban and suburban communities.
“Virginia’s longitudinal data system is one of the best in the nation, allowing researchers and policymakers to track student progress over time, from early childhood through high school to higher education and the workforce,” said Talbott.
Virginia needs this research, as students’ literacy scores have been declining over time, showing modest recovery in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this progress, student scores remain below pre-COVID levels, with students from low-income communities and students with disabilities continuing to experience significant gaps in literacy achievement compared to their peers.
Over the next three years, from 2026 to 2029, Talbott and her team plan to leverage Virginia’s longitudinal literacy data system to support education policymaking. In year one, the team will study the effectiveness of the state’s newest literacy assessment, the Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS), compared to its predecessor, the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS), in predicting literacy achievement for students in kindergarten through sixth grade from 2021-2028.
In year two, Talbott and her team will examine growth on state literacy achievement tests (Standards of Learning or SOLs) for students in grades three through eight from 2022-2028, before and after VLA implementation.
And in year three, the team will explore the benefits of Virginia’s investment in high-quality literacy education under the VLA. They will identify the return on investment in the VLA for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, including for students with lower levels of academic achievement. Each summer, the team will share findings with superintendents and principals around the state, presenting results in digestible, user-friendly formats. They will share findings through engagement with division and school leaders, including at the School of Education’s annual school leadership institute.
“It’s expensive to conduct longitudinal research — to collect a large amount of data from every student in Virginia’s public schools over time,” said Talbott. “Yet the longitudinal approach is vital to determine whether a policy as influential as the VLA is changing outcomes for students, and to figure out how implementation can be improved at the local level.”
Therefore, with this grant, Talbott and her team seek to provide education leaders and policymakers with the evidence they need to improve implementation of the science of reading to benefit all students, schools and communities in Virginia.
The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305S260009 to the College of William and Mary. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.