Literacy is foundational to every student’s academic journey, directly influencing their success across all subjects and their capacity for lifelong learning. Selecting and effectively implementing evidence-based practices that meet a district or school’s specific literacy needs can be challenging. First, teachers and education leaders are often faced with myriad potential literacy programs, interventions, and strategies from which they must choose the one most likely to work for their unique needs. After choosing a program or strategy, districts and schools need to carefully plan for implementation, launch the program, and then assess if it worked as intended.
To help educators implement evidence-based practices, the Institute of Education Sciences has developed A Practitioner’s Guide to Improving Literacy Outcomes for Students by Using Evidence to Strengthen Programs and Practices. This resource is aligned to a five-step process that guides educators through selecting and implementing evidence-based literacy practices, based on local needs. It builds on the Literacy Roadmap developed by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast and shares evidence-based resources from the Regional Educational Laboratory and What Works Clearinghouse programs at the Institute of Education Sciences. Read on to explore this improvement cycle and its steps for using evidence to improve literacy education and student literacy outcomes in districts and schools.
Step 1: Identify Local Needs
The journey toward literacy improvement begins with a comprehensive assessment of literacy needs within schools, districts, and classrooms. Data-driven identification of needs is crucial, since it reveals where students are struggling—whether in reading comprehension, fluency, or engagement—and specific areas for improvement. Data should cover a spectrum of literacy indicators, such as reading comprehension scores, text engagement, and vocabulary knowledge. They should also consult a wide range of voices from the community—including students (when appropriate), educators, parents, caregivers, and other relevant community members—to better understand those needs and potential underlying causes.
For more on how to identify local needs, check out Continuous Improvement in Education: A Toolkit for Schools and Districts from, which offers tools and resources that practitioners can use to implement a continuous improvement effort in their agency, district, or school.
Step 2: Select Relevant, Evidence-Based Project Components
Once literacy needs are identified, the next step is to choose evidence-based programs and practices aligned to those needs. When choosing evidence-based programs and practices, try to select ones that research demonstrates were effective with student populations and settings similar the district or school’s population and setting.
Consider how well each program aligns with the district or school’s resources, capacity, culture, and specific literacy goals. Administrators and other educators can use the literacy resources from the What Works Clearinghouse to identify which programs are best for their specific needs and setting.
Step 3: Plan for Implementation
A well-thought-out implementation plan is the backbone of any successful program, including those focused on literacy. Planning for implementation enables educators to establish clear objectives, outline necessary resources, and assign roles. Creating a detailed plan could include drafting a logic model that links specific program activities with desired literacy outcomes; creating measurable, specific goals, and outlining who is responsible for specific parts of implementation. Co-developing an implementation plan with a range of staff and stakeholders can foster a sense of ownership across the school community and help ensure that everyone understands their part in bringing the literacy program to life. If you’re new to using logic models, the Logic Models for Program Design, Evaluation, and Implementation guide provides a structured approach for mapping out program plans effectively.
Step 4: Implement
With a plan in place, it is time for implementation. It is important to continually monitor and adjust throughout this phase to maintain alignment with goals and adapt to any unforeseen challenges. Effective implementation depends on regular data collection and analysis to assess whether activities are being conducted as planned, whether they are yielding the desired effect, and if there are barriers that may impede progress. Again, keeping all interested partners (students, educators, and caregivers) engaged and informed can help ensure ongoing support for any literacy initiatives.
Practical Measurement for Continuous Improvement in the Classroom offers guidance and tools for helping you monitor and adjust your literacy interventions.
Step 5: Examine and Reflect
The final step in the literacy improvement cycle is dedicated to evaluating the program’s effectiveness and identifying areas for improvement. The examine and reflect step allows educators to assess what worked well, what did not, and what adjustments are needed. By analyzing performance data and, if possible, implementing a high-quality evaluation, educators can determine if the literacy program met its intended goals. Evaluation tools can reveal specific elements of success or areas where the intervention fell short. Programs benefit from cycles of reflection to inform future decisions and foster continuous improvement. Adjusting the approach based on outcomes can support the program’s long-term success and its responsiveness to changing needs.
For more on assessing and refining programs, check outthe Program Evaluation Toolkit.
Your Next Step
The five-step literacy improvement cycle equips educators with a clear, actionable process for improving literacy outcomes for students using evidence-based programs and practices. By following each of these five steps—identifying needs, selecting evidence-based components, planning, implementing, and reflecting—schools can enhance literacy instruction and student outcomes in a structured, data-informed manner.
Consult the full Practitioner’s Guide to Improving Literacy Outcomes for Students by Using Evidence to Strengthen Programs and Practices, which provides additional insights, tools, and resources to support literacy improvement across various learning environments, to get started!
