California reading scores inch up as literacy coaches face shortages

State investments boost scores, but coach supply lags

California’s reading scores have slowly improved after the state invested billions of dollars in overhauling its approach to literacy, but a persistent shortage of trained literacy coaches may be preventing students from improving even more, according to educators and researchers.

In 2013, before California began its literacy overhaul, the state ranked 47th nationally for fourth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Only 27% of students scored “proficient” or “advanced” on that assessment, the Associated Press reported.

The following year, California released a new English language arts framework that encouraged schools to focus on phonics, vocabulary, and other foundational methods when teaching children to read. Phonics-based instruction will not become mandatory until next year, according to the AP, but most schools have been gradually adopting the method.

The state subsequently added new curriculum materials, a dyslexia screener, and updates to teacher credential programs. California also expanded transitional kindergarten and implemented new guidelines for instruction for English learners.

Sarah Novicoff, an education researcher studying California’s literacy investments, found that nearly 60% of school districts used federal COVID-19 relief funding and state grants to hire literacy coaches — specialists who work directly with teachers on instructional techniques. Novicoff said that districts that made those investments saw significant improvements in reading scores, including among English learners.

A statewide shortage of trained literacy coaches, however, is emerging as a limiting factor, according to educators. The low supply of coaches and reading specialists trained in evidence-based methods means that many districts that want to hire them cannot.

Allan Carver, an administrator at Tracy Elementary, told the AP that the scarcity of qualified coaches has slowed his school’s literacy efforts. Laura Rodriguez, a literacy coach in California, said the limited pipeline of trained professionals means schools must often choose between hiring unqualified staff or leaving positions vacant.

The trajectory echoes national trends. As MSI has reported, U.S. students remain nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading levels nationally, a decline that predates COVID-19 disruptions by years. California’s approach is drawing attention as a case study in whether state-level investment can reverse that broader erosion.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in announcing improved test scores in October 2025, attributed the gains to “thoughtful and sustained investments to address inequities in life circumstances and educational opportunities for some of our state’s most vulnerable students.” Newsom cited investments in community schools, nutrition and mental health supports, literacy and math coaching, tutoring, and extended learning time.

The Public Policy Institute of California, in a policy brief analyzing the state’s early literacy efforts, noted that while the effect of the Literacy Coach and Reading Specialist Grant program was less than half that of the comparable Early Literacy Supplemental Block Grant, the coach program was substantially cheaper while delivering a similar ratio of cost to test-score gains. The success of both programs in schools whose populations were 40% to 45% English learners is of particular note, the PPIC said, amid criticism that the science of reading movement has not sufficiently addressed the needs of multilingual learners.