Dena Reams, Ed.D., Coordinator
The Master of Arts in Education: Reading Specialist program is designed to assist practicing teachers in becoming specialists in the area of reading. Through this program they learn how to construct assessment, curriculum, and instructional approaches to improve Pre-K-12 reading literacy. Strategies for improving reading comprehension, assessment and diagnosis of reading difficulties, and test analysis/interpretation will be studied. Focus on technology, diverse learning needs, and linguistic differences will be included. Three 15-clock hour clinical practicum experiences and a 32-clock hour creative project/practicum are required. Learners must have two years classroom experience as a licensed teacher. Learners must successfully pass the Illinois Basic Skills Test/Test of Academic Proficiency (TAP), the Illinois Content Area Test, and the Illinois Assessment of Professional Teaching Test to satisfy graduation and licensure requirements. In addition, Illinois standards currently state that “all professional education and content-area coursework that form part of an application for licensure, endorsement, or approval must be passed with a grade no lower than ‘C’.”
Completion of the first six courses, 24 credit hours, fulfills the State of Illinois requirements for a reading teacher endorsement. Completion of the 32-credit-hour degree program leads to a Reading Specialist license. A minimum 3.0 grade point average is required to complete the program successfully.
32 hours
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