Reading Specialist Endorsement

The reading sequence of courses at NLU fulfills the State of Illinois guidelines for the preparation of Reading Specialists. Candidates are referred to the website of the Illinois State Board of Education for specific requirements, updates and amendments.

 

In addition to National College of Education Graduate Admissions Requirements, applicants must:

• Have a valid Professional Educator License (PEL) endorsed in the teaching field (teaching endorsements can’t be added to administrative and school support PEL’s)
• Have a master's degree from an accredited school

Please note: Candidates who completed a Reading Teacher endorsement, the following is required in addition to the above:

• Faculty review:

•  For students who received an "A" grade in RLR 592A and RLR 592B:
  • Consent of Program Chair and Practicum Director
• For students who received a "B" grade in RLR 592A and/or RLR 592B:
  • Written response to prompts provided by the program
  • Interview with program faculty
• Students who received a grade lower than a "B" in RLR 592A and/or RLR 592B, are not eligible for admission

Program Details:

• Requires 28 SH for completion
• Requires two years of teaching experience working with varied grade levels in school-based and clinical settings 
• Requires passing of the Reading Specialist Test #221 (previously #176)
• Students cannot receive more than one grade of "C" or below in any Reading courses (RLR, RLL, RLW prefix). Students who earn a second grade of "C" or below must receive approval from Reading program faculty to have the opportunity to retake a course. If Reading program faculty deny the request, students will have the option to petition the Academic Policies Committee for the chance to retake the course or continue in the program with more than one "C" grade.
• Proof of membership in a professional literacy organization is strongly recommended (monitored by the Reading program faculty in the last two courses in the program)

Required Courses

Reading Specialist

RLR 501	Teaching Beginning Literacy	3
RLR 502	Teaching Comprehension and Content Area Reading	3
RLR 510	Diagnosis and Assessment of Literacy	3
RLR 511	Instructional Strategies for Literacy Intervention	3
RLR 518	Literacy Leadership and Staff Development	3
RLR 520	Survey of P-12 Youth Literature	3
RLR 541	Teaching Writing	3
RLR 592A	Practicum: Literacy Interventions for Elementary Students	2
RLR 592B	Practicum: Literacy Interventions for Secondary Students	2
RLR 593	Seminar in Reading Research	3