Structured Literacy Certification for Dyslexia Practitioners and Therapists: What? Why? How?


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By Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D., and Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, Ed.D.

October 2016

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) believes that 1) all individuals have the right to achieve their potential, 2) individual learning abilities can be strengthened, and 3) social, educational, and cultural barriers to language acquisition and use must be removed. IDA actively promotes effective teaching approaches and related clinical educational-intervention strategies to promote reading and writing competence. To ensure that reading is taught effectively to all individuals, IDA created the Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.

The teacher is the most influential variable in a school. Specifically, what a teacher knows and how the teacher imparts this knowledge has the greatest impact on student achievement.

Evidence strongly suggests that when reading instruction is delivered by highly knowledgeable and skilled teachers, all but the most severe reading disabilities can be resolved early on

Evidence strongly suggests that when reading instruction is delivered by highly knowledgeable and skilled teachers, all but the most severe reading disabilities can be resolved early on, putting students on track toward academic success. This is true even with high-risk populations, e.g., impoverished children and English language learners.

However, numerous studies conducted across the United States during the past twenty years have shown that too many teachers are lacking in both the knowledge of literacy-related content and the necessary skills to teach reading effectively. IDA’s multitiered teacher certification program uses Structured Literacy instruction to encourage the preparation of highly knowledgeable and skilled reading teachers.

What is Structured Literacy?

Structured Literacy is evidence-based instruction that emphasizes the structure of language and includes the following components:

  • phonology—speech sound system,
  • orthography—writing-spelling system,
  • morphology—meaningful parts of words,
  • syntax—grammar and sentence structure,
  • semantics—relationships among words, phrases, sentences, etc., and
  • discourse—organization of spoken and written language.

The integration of listening, speaking, reading, and written expression makes this instruction multisensory.

The ultimate goal of Structured Literacy instruction is the development of deep levels of comprehension and expression and lifelong reading and writing habits. This instruction enhances the reading and academic achievement of all students and is essential for students with dyslexia or related difficulties.

Why Should Dyslexia Practitioners and Therapists Be Certified?

Certification from IDA for Tier 3—Level I—Dyslexia Practitioners or Tier 3—Level II—Dyslexia Therapists aims to encourage the preparation and designation of highly knowledgeable and skilled reading teachers. This single certification program standardizes the seminal work of many excellent teacher-preparation organizations; provides a common nomenclature that is easy for parents, teachers, and administrators to understand; and gives consumers information for determining which individuals are prepared to provide high-quality evidence-based instruction.

What Is the Certification Program?

The dyslexia certification program is for dyslexia practitioners and therapists who have completed an IDA-accredited preparation program or a preparation program that meets IDA requirements.

The dyslexia certification program is for dyslexia practitioners and therapists who have completed an IDA-accredited preparation program or a preparation program that meets IDA requirements.

 Tier 3 IDA certification indicates that an individual has the knowledge and skill to teach reading effectively. All IDA-certified dyslexia practitioners and therapists will be listed in IDA’s virtual directory and identified with a special designation. Parents will be able to locate highly trained dyslexia specialists to work with their children, and school administrators will be able to verify the qualifications of these dyslexia specialists.

Tier 3—Level I—Certified Dyslexia Practitioner or Tier 3—Level II—Certified Dyslexia Therapist

The certified dyslexia practitioner and the certified dyslexia therapist are specifically prepared to work with those students who are diagnosed with dyslexia and related difficulties. IDA awards these certifications based on the following criteria:

  • Successful completion of the Certification Examination for Effective Reading Instruction (CEERI)
  • Coursework aligned with IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading
  • Coursework must be provided by a training program accredited by IDA listed here or here.
  • Supervised practicum commensurate with certification at Tier 3—Levels I and II

A supervised practicum demonstrates a dyslexia specialist’s skill in improving students’ reading proficiency.

Currently, IDA is accepting supervised practicums only through training programs accredited by IDA which you can find here and here.

IDA membership is not a requirement for certification. For more information about certification, visit our certification information page.

How Do I Become Certified?

Grandfathering for Tier 3—Level I—Certified Dyslexia Practitioner or Tier 3—Level II—Certified Dyslexia Therapist

Graduates of an IDA-accredited preparation program—International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC), Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA), Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE), Wilson Language Training, National Institute for Language Development (NILD)—have achieved high recognition for excellence in our field. IDA invites these graduates to take advantage of a one-time opportunity to obtain automatic professional certification from IDA as a Tier 3—Level I—certified dyslexia practitioner (CDP) or a Tier 3—Level II—certified dyslexia therapist (CDT).

What is required to take advantage of this grandfathering opportunity?

  1. Complete an application.
  2. Send the application, verification documentation, and certification fee to IDA via fax at (410) 321-5069 or USPS to 40 York Road, 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD, 21204.
  3. Fees for the grandfathering certification opportunity are $220 for a Tier 3—Level I—Certified Dyslexia Practitioner or $270 for a Tier 3—Level II—Certified Dyslexia Therapist.
  4. Completion of the CEERI is not required for this one-time opportunity, but taking the CEERI will be required every seven years.
  5. This grandfathering opportunity expires October 30, 2016.

Conventional Process for Tier 3—Level I—Certified Dyslexia Practitioner or Tier 3—Level II—Certified Dyslexia Therapist

Graduates of an IDA-accredited preparation program that includes a supervised practicum are eligible for certification at Tier 3. They must successfully complete the CEERI and submit the following to IDA: an application with verification documentation along with the certification fee of $250 for Tier 3—Level I—certified dyslexia practitioner or $300 for Tier 3—Level II—certified dyslexia therapist.

How Do I Maintain Certification?

All educators who earn certification through IDA—whether through the one-time grandfathering offer or through the conventional process—are required to pay an annual certification fee that varies according to tier and level. Beginning in 2018, annual certification fees will be payable by February 1.

In addition, all professionals certified by IDA (all tiers and levels) will be required to complete and document ten CEUs each year. All IDA-certified professionals will also be required to take the Certification Examination for Effective Reading Instruction (CEERI) every seven years—not for the purpose of continuing certification but for the purpose of directing future continuing education.

Certification from IDA aims to encourage the preparation and designation of highly knowledgeable and skilled teachers of reading. This certification program standardizes the seminal work of many excellent teacher preparation organizations; provides a common nomenclature that is easy for parents, teachers, and administrators to understand; and assures consumers that individuals are prepared to provide high-quality evidence-based instruction.


Suzanne Carreker

Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D., CALT-QI, is Principal Education Content Lead at Lexia Learning Systems in Concord, MA and was formerly Senior Vice President of Innovative Solutions at Neuhaus Education Center in Houston, TX. Dr. Carreker is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and is the author of numerous systematic literacy curricula, journal articles, and textbook chapters on reading and spelling. Currently, she serves on the Board of the International Dyslexia Association as Secretary and is coordinating IDA’s new certification program for teachers of reading. She currently serves as the secretary of the International Dyslexia Association. 

 


Elsa Hagen

Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, Ed.D., is a bilingual speech language pathologist and a certified academic language therapist with a doctorate in curriculum and instruction. She is the director of the Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas, and works with the Texas Institute for Measurement Evaluation and Statistics at the University of Houston. Dr. Cardenas-Hagan’s research interests include the development of early reading assessments for Spanish-speaking students and the development of reading interventions for bilingual students. She currently serves as the vice-chair of the International Dyslexia Association. 


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