Giving Compass' Take:

• Education Dive details a recent report that shows how most states to do not require special education teachers in elementary schools to demonstrate reading instruction skills via a licensing test.

• How can those in early childhood literacy advocacy push for stronger guidelines? The children who need the most help in school may not be getting it.

• Here's why reading before the third grade is so important — and what philanthropists can do.

The National Council on Teacher Quality analysis shows that just 11 states require teachers to demonstrate their knowledge of reading instruction on a licensing test.

Most states are not adequately preparing elementary and special education teachers to teach reading, asserts a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality. The report shows that while most states have standards for teacher education programs that include reading instruction, just 11 require teachers in both areas to demonstrate their knowledge on a licensing test.

While some states require such exams for elementary school teachers, they don’t always do the same for special education teachers — “a perplexing stance given that 80% of all students are assigned to special education because of their struggle to read,” according to a press release on the report.

The organization recommends that all states require teacher candidates to pass a test rooted in what research shows about learning how to read. Even if a test covers multiple subject areas, it should include a “subscore” of reading knowledge, they add.

Read the full article about how special ed teachers in just 11 states are required to show reading instruction knowledge by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.