A statewide review of teacher preparation programs released by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) finds that several Arizona colleges may not be adequately preparing future teachers to teach reading to English language learners. The study analyzed program materials and curricula at multiple institutions, assessing how well teacher-prep programs address five core components of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Those components are central to what NCTQ describes as the “science of reading,” and the report raises concerns about how much-focused training candidates receive before entering classrooms where students arrive with a wide range of language backgrounds and literacy needs.
The review examined programs at Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and Rio Salado College among others, and assessed six Arizona programs in total. Across the state sample, 67% of the programs reviewed earned an A or A+ grade from NCTQ. Nationally, the organization reported an improvement since 2023: “Roughly half of programs, 53%, earned an ‘A’. Now, this is the good news part of the story, because this is up from just 26% in 2023. … The bad news part of the story is that we still have roughly half of the programs that are not yet aligning to the evidence on how to teach reading,” said Heather Peske, president of NCTQ. The study comes against a backdrop of persistent reading struggles in Arizona: statewide data show just 36% of Arizona third graders read at grade level.
A teacher helps students with reading and writing exercises in a classroom — illustrating concerns from a new study that Arizona colleges may not be preparing teachers to support English learners’ literacy.
While the national picture shows progress in some corners, the NCTQ review calls out limited preparation specifically for teaching English language learners. In Arizona, the organization reports that half of the programs it analyzed devoted fewer than two hours total to instruction on how to teach English learners to read. Peske warned that the lack of instruction time is a real problem for the students most in need of targeted support: “These are two groups of students, English language learners and struggling readers, who need the best teachers who have the most training and know what they’re doing. And particularly in Arizona where we’re talking about English learners… this is an area of focus that the state should consider,” she said.
Not every teacher-preparation program in the state was included in the NCTQ’s ratings. Grand Canyon University, for example, did not appear in the study’s published list because the organization requires certain materials and data to complete its review. Meredith Critchfield, dean of the university’s College of Education, said the NCTQ uses a very specific review method aimed at the science of reading and that GCU has structured coursework to address those elements. “NCTQ has a very particular method of reviewing programs and how well they prepare educators for various elements. And in this particular case, it is for the science of reading. … What we have done at GCU is we have built in a few different courses that are specifically designed toward the science of reading. One is a really science of reading focused course … (and) a second course is sort of more of … the reading foundation,” she said.
Critchfield also described the hands-on elements that GCU requires for teacher candidates, saying clinical experience with diverse learners begins early in the program. She emphasized that theory alone is not sufficient, and that aspiring teachers must practice reading instruction in real classrooms with children who speak different first languages. “We can teach in the textbooks all day how best to serve students who are coming to English as a second or third or fourth language. We can teach them about the theories about language acquisition, but it means nothing until our aspiring teachers have the chance to actually sit down and work with a student who maybe speaks Swahili as their first language or Spanish as their first language,” she said.
The NCTQ’s review focused on how teacher-prep programs teach the five foundational elements of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. The group evaluated whether coursework, syllabi and program materials explicitly and adequately covered those areas and whether teacher candidates receive concrete instructional strategies tied to evidence about how children learn to read. Although some Arizona programs earned top marks, the review indicates uneven alignment with that body of evidence across the state and the nation.
The report also notes limitations in available data: five additional Arizona teacher-preparation programs did not provide enough information for NCTQ’s assessment, a gap that leaves parts of the statewide landscape unmeasured. That absence of documentation means the published grades reflect the programs that were reviewable under NCTQ’s methodology rather than a full accounting of every preparation provider in Arizona. NCTQ describes itself as an education research nonprofit focused on analyzing and improving teacher preparation, and its state-by-state reviews are billed as snapshots of how well programs are aligning with current research on reading instruction.
This is the first time the teacher-preparation review has been conducted since 2023, and officials with NCTQ point to a mixed picture: measurable gains in the proportion of programs earning high marks nationally, paired with persistent pockets of inadequate training for critical populations of students. In Arizona specifically, the combination of a substantial English learner population and low proficiency rates among young readers has prompted the organization to highlight the need for more focused training on teaching reading to students learning English. Those findings and the comments from program leaders underscore the ongoing debate over how best to translate reading science into teacher-preparation curricula and into classroom practice.