5 Reasons To Include Literacy Education in Middle School Teachers’ Professional Learning

Teachers often have too much to do and not enough time to accomplish it all. Their limited time is precious and needs to be spent on high-impact activities to make the biggest difference with their students.

High-quality professional learning is one such pursuit. The time teachers spend on professional learning that is thoughtfully constructed, effectively delivered, and targeted to their individual needs can pay dividends in terms of their success in the classroom. Although teachers of adolescent learners need professional learning that focuses on their core content area and successful teaching strategies, literacy education is also critical.

In fact, here are five key reasons why education leaders should find time to provide teachers of adolescent students with actionable, high-quality professional learning about literacy instruction and the science of reading.

1. Literacy Is a Critical Skill for Success in School and Life

Students who struggle to read are less likely to understand increasingly complex texts as their education advances. This makes them less likely to succeed academically, and it puts them on a path toward fewer opportunities as adults. More than 40% of adults with the lowest literacy levels live in poverty, the nonprofit Lucy Project reports.

In contrast, students who read well go on to enjoy better health and overall quality of life. They become lifelong learners who can add skills and adapt nimbly to changing workforce conditions. They become more informed citizens who are better able to advocate for themselves and their communities in a democratic society.

2. Many Students Still Struggle To Read Effectively Beyond Elementary School

Many students still struggle to read even as they reach middle and high school. This was true long before COVID, and the pandemic only exacerbated the problem.

In 2024, just 30% of eighth grade students performed at or above the “Proficient” level on the reading portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the Nation’s Report Card. That was two percentage points lower than the results in 2022, the previous assessment year. What’s more, 33% of eighth grade students failed to reach even the “Basic” level on the reading exam in 2024, up from 30% in 2022.

If these students’ literacy skills aren’t addressed, they will continue to fall even further behind their peers.

3. Teachers of Adolescent Students Often Don’t Get the Training They Need To Teach Literacy Well

Teachers of all kinds, from elementary reading specialists to high school science and social studies teachers, rely on their students’ literacy skills to convey content knowledge. However, not all teachers receive the same literacy education training, and teachers of older students rarely get such training at all.

Teaching literacy to adolescents is complex, and not all teachers have the proper background or resources to do this well. Understanding the science of reading is critical for educators to provide the best possible literacy support to their students, and this includes students in the middle grades who still struggle with their reading skills.

“With the exception of ‘reading specialists,’ ‘literacy coaches,’ and the like, secondary-school teachers receive little to no training on how to support struggling readers. That’s because educator-prep programs and even administrators and teachers themselves have long believed there’s no need to teach older students to read,” former middle school teacher Colette Coleman writes for The Hechinger Report.

“Literacy instruction [typically] ends in third grade. ...This often leaves those who lack grade-level literacy skills unable to access content—or literacy help—so they drop further behind their on-grade-level reading peers.”

4. With the Right Training, Teachers can Integrate Literacy Education That Improves Students’ Reading Skills

Schoolwide professional learning that incorporates the science of reading into literacy instruction can help all teachers accelerate student literacy, regardless of their content area. This doesn’t mean all secondary teachers need to become literacy experts. Instead, subject-area teachers can collaborate with their ELA colleagues to provide targeted instruction that is rooted in the science of reading.

To make literacy professional learning more actionable and engaging for teachers, educators can create opportunities for collaboration and practice:

• Cross-School Collaboration: Encourage elementary and secondary teachers to share literacy expertise through joint professional development (PD) days and professional learning communities (PLCs).

• Embedding Literacy Into Content Training: Incorporate short literacy-skill segments into existing math, science, and social studies PD sessions.

• Ongoing Literacy Resource Libraries: Create on-demand libraries of literacy strategies, videos, and lesson plans teachers can access at any time.

With the proper training and support, teachers of adolescent students can weave literacy skills and strategies into their instruction to help students learn how to read, comprehend, and articulate their ideas across various grade levels and subjects.

Embedding Literacy Into Existing Content Training

Integrate literacy skill development into subject-specific professional development that's likely already taking place. There are already opportunities in the secondary classroom to integrate literacy and reading skills; 85% of assignments require students to read a text. Educators in middle and high school likely need some insight about how to use the texts they’re already studying to do double duty—firm up reading skills and explore the content.

Practical application: Provide strategies to support students in reading and interpreting scientific, historical, and mathematical texts during subject-area professional development. Incorporate teacher training focused on domain-specific vocabulary instruction. Explore strategies to help students produce strong lab reports, proofs, and evidence-based research.

Ongoing Literacy Resource Libraries

Curate online libraries of on-demand literacy resources, lesson plans, videos, and other just-in-time supports for content-area teachers of adolescents. This ensures teachers can confidently access relevant professional learning in personalized bite-sized chunks at their point of need.

Practical application: Create a Google Site or SharePoint folder organized by topics (academic vocabulary, text structure, grammar, syntax, academic discourse). Store presentation materials and effective strategy videos for on-demand access, and invite teachers to share resources to make the library collaborative and sustainable.

5. Professional Learning in Literacy Education Makes a Big Difference in Adolescent Students’ Ability To Read

Training late elementary and middle school teachers in explicit reading instruction based on the science of reading has been shown to improve the reading abilities of adolescent learners. In one example, middle school teachers who received early literacy instruction taught phonological awareness to students who struggled to read. All of the participating students except one made significant gains in their literacy skills and their attitudes toward reading.

Improving Student Outcomes

Finding time to integrate literacy education into middle school teachers’ professional learning can be challenging. Lexia Aspire® Professional Learning makes this process easier.

Grounded in the science of reading, Aspire is a flexible, self-paced professional learning solution that empowers all educators to accelerate the literacy skills of students in grades 4–8. Because Aspire is delivered online in flexible, bite-sized chunks, teachers can experience it at their convenience, gaining the skills and strategies they need to support literacy in a way that fits into their busy schedules. These online modules can also be revisited as many times as needed to support teachers’ ongoing development.

A teacher who’s skilled in applying science of reading principles can create a more equitable learning environment by fostering literacy for every student. Providing high-quality, personalized professional learning to teachers of adolescents gives them the knowledge they need to do this successfully—while significantly improving student outcomes.