What to know about Louisiana's NAEP results
Inside Louisiana's classrooms, I've watched our homegrown teacher-to-teacher approach turn NAEP scores around
When I was teaching high school English in Louisiana in 2014, I was actively encouraged to deviate from the provided curriculum materials and be creative with my planning and instruction. "Just close your door and teach," veteran teachers advised, viewing the materials as restrictive rather than supportive. Like many teachers, I spent countless hours creating my own units from various sources, driven by a belief that teacher-created materials would better serve my students than standardized curriculum.
Louisiana's remarkable transformation since then tells a story of how thoughtful system-level change can shift this narrative. Through the creation of structured teacher leadership pathways - including Content Leaders who facilitate professional learning in their schools and Teacher Leader Advisors (TLAs) who help develop and refine state instructional materials - Louisiana has built a system that honors teacher expertise while providing the support of high-quality curriculum. As someone who has lived this evolution, first as a Content Leader in 2017 and now as an independent consultant working with educators across the state, I've seen how this approach has moved Louisiana from 49th to 32nd in national rankings, with particularly striking gains in 4th grade reading.
This blog examines three key levers driving Louisiana's success: structured teacher leadership pathways, curriculum-based professional learning, and systematic literacy reform. Crucially, the state has rejected false choices between high-quality curriculum and foundational skills instruction, investing in both through tools like the ELA Guidebooks and comprehensive science of reading training. The results speak for themselves - Louisiana was one of only two states where 4th graders' scores surpassed pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading on the 2024 NAEP.
Teacher leadership
Louisiana's teacher leadership strategy operates on multiple levels, creating various pathways for educator influence and growth. When I began my Content Leader training in 2017, I experienced firsthand how this role bridges classroom practice and system-level change. The nine full days of training, organized into four "arcs" covering curriculum, close reading, writing instruction, and facilitation skills, transformed not just my own practice but my ability to support other teachers in implementing high-quality curriculum.
The state's approach extends beyond school-based roles. Teacher Leader Advisors work directly with the Louisiana Department of Education to create and evaluate instructional materials, including reviewing publisher-submitted curricula, creating instructional tasks, updating ELA resources, and developing professional learning. This work is compensated and includes specialized training from LDOE staff, ensuring teachers maintain classroom connections while influencing state-level resources.
The distributed leadership model has proven particularly effective because it operates at multiple levels. At the school level, Content Leaders facilitate professional learning and support curriculum implementation. At the state level, TLAs ensure instructional materials meet classroom needs by bringing their practical expertise to resource development. The state specifically recruits TLAs with expertise in early literacy, intervention, Early Childhood, and K-12 science and social studies, ensuring resources across content areas benefit from teacher input.
ELA Guidebooks and Content Leaders
The ELA Guidebooks curriculum embodies Louisiana's approach to improving instruction through high-quality materials while maintaining strong foundational skills instruction. As a Content Leader, I watched teachers transition from skepticism similar to my own initial resistance to seeing how the curriculum's detailed supports for close reading and text-dependent questions could enhance rather than restrict their teaching. Built around complex grade-level texts and knowledge building, the Guidebooks integrate research-based approaches to fluency, vocabulary, speaking and listening, and writing.
Content Leaders receive extensive training in the Guidebooks' design principles and implementation through a carefully sequenced learning progression. Module 2 introduces the "Guidebook approach" to literacy instruction, Module 3 focuses on knowledge building through text sets, Modules 4-5 address close reading through cycles of inquiry, and Modules 6-7 develop writing instruction capabilities. This curriculum-specific training ensures professional learning directly connects to classroom practice.
The synergy between high-quality materials and job-embedded professional learning through Content Leaders has proven powerful. In my TLA role, I contributed to the continuous improvement of these materials, seeing how teacher feedback shapes their evolution. The open source nature of the materials allows for this ongoing refinement, while the Content Leader role ensures teachers receive sustained support in implementation. This combination helps teachers shift practice toward standards-aligned instruction focused on complex texts and building knowledge, while maintaining attention to foundational skills.
Foundational literacy
Louisiana's recent literacy gains also stem in part from systematic implementation of science of reading principles, codified in legislation like Senate Bill 216 from 2021. This law requires all K-3 teachers and administrators to complete approved professional development in foundational literacy skills by 2023-24, focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The training must be based on the science of reading and designed for educator professional development.
The state has backed this mandate with comprehensive implementation support, while ensuring it complements rather than competes with curriculum implementation. The Department of Education developed a list of approved professional development courses, required documentation of completion, and established reporting requirements for districts. This systematic approach ensures all early grades educators receive consistent training in evidence-based reading instruction while maintaining focus on rich content and complex texts.
The results are evident in the 2024 NAEP scores, where Louisiana's fourth graders led the country in reading progress. State Superintendent Cade Brumley attributes these gains to being "intentional and challenging the status quo," while NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr specifically highlighted Louisiana's reading policies as a model for other states. The success extends to traditionally underserved students - both students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students showed greater gains than their peers nationally.
Implications for practice
As someone who has experienced Louisiana's transformation from multiple perspectives - skeptical classroom teacher, Content Leader, and now independent consultant - I've seen how building coherent systems that align curriculum, professional learning, teacher leadership, and foundational skills instruction can drive real change. The state's experience shows that false choices between systematic phonics and knowledge-building curriculum must be rejected - both are essential and can be mutually reinforcing when properly aligned.
Professional learning should be curriculum-specific and sustained over time through inquiry cycles. Louisiana's model includes six content modules that Content Leaders first experience as learners, then turn around to colleagues. Each module includes opportunities to try practices, collect evidence of student learning, and reflect with peers. This job-embedded approach helps teachers transfer learning to their classrooms, while multiple teacher leadership pathways like Content Leaders and TLAs ensure broad educator input into improvement efforts.
The foundation must be high-quality instructional materials that teachers see as truly supportive of student learning, combined with systematic attention to foundational skills. Louisiana's ELA Guidebooks demonstrate how teacher-developed, standards-aligned materials can drive instructional improvement when coupled with intensive implementation support and science of reading training. The focus should be on building will through demonstrated effectiveness rather than compliance mandates, while providing the systems and structures necessary for successful implementation of both rich curriculum and explicit foundational skills instruction.
References
Louisiana Department of Education. (2023). Louisiana Guidebooks. Retrieved from https://www.louisianabelieves.com/academics/ela-guidebooks
Louisiana Department of Education. (2023). Content Leader. Retrieved from https://www.louisianabelieves.com/academics/louisiana-content-leaders
Louisiana Department of Education. (2023). Teacher Leader Advisors. Retrieved from https://www.louisianabelieves.com/academics/louisiana-teacher-leaders
Louisiana Department of Education. (2018-2019). ELA Content Leader Modules Scope and Sequence. Retrieved from https://www.louisianabelieves.com/docs/default-source/academics/ela-content-leader-modules-scope-and-sequence.pdf