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Master Reading Teacher Overview
New legislation passed in 1999 (House Bill
2307) required the creation of the Master Reading Teacher (MRT) Certificate,
the development of standards for the certificate, and the completed design
of the Master Reading Teacher certificate exam no later than January 1, 2001.
A committee composed of reading instruction experts representing Texas public
schools, educator preparation programs, the Texas Reading Initiative, Texas
citizens, and governmental policymakers met four times during the last six
months to formulate and refine the Master Reading Teacher standards. After
review by state and national reading experts, the standards were approved by
the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) at the January 2000 board
meeting.
DEFINITION: |
A Master Reading Teacher is an individual who holds a
Master Reading Teacher Certificate and whose primary duties are to teach
reading and to serve as a reading mentor to other teachers. |
PURPOSE: |
The Master Reading Teacher Certificate is being implemented
as part of the Texas Reading Initiative to ensure that all Texas students
are reading on grade level by the end of the third grade and that their
reading knowledge and skills grow throughout their public school careers. |
ELIGIBILITY: |
The Master Reading Certificate may be obtained in one
of two ways.
- An individual who holds the Reading Specialist Certificate must
complete a SBEC-approved Master Reading Teacher preparation program.
- An individual must have a teaching certificate, at least three
years of teaching experience, complete an SBEC-approved Master Reading
Teacher preparation program, and pass the Master Reading Teacher
certification exam.
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SBEC has notified existing preparation
programs, education service centers, school districts, and other interested
entities of the opportunity to provide Master Reading Teacher preparation programs.
These entities, as well as others, may design Master Reading Teacher programs
to be implemented beginning in the summer of 2000. The certification examinations
were administered for the first time in February 2001.
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MRT standards should be integrated
into newly designed programs. The MRT standards are based on EC-3 Reading
Instruction certification standards and the Texas Essential Knowledge
and Skills (TEKS) for Kindergarten-Grade 12 English, Language Arts/ Reading
and require knowledge of:
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the interrelated components
of reading; |
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the use of appropriate reading
assessments and the implementation of reading instruction based
on state standards; |
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first and second language acquisition,
reading difficulties, dyslexia, and reading disorders; |
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strategies to ensure research-based
reading instruction through communication and collaboration with
stakeholders; and |
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and mentoring, coaching,
and providing professional development |
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Preparation programs will
provide SBEC with a matrix that documents the integration of MRT standards
into their programs and how these standards will be assessed.
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Programs will seek approval from SBEC. Click
here for information on the program approval process. |
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Programs are subject to the Accountability
System for Educator Preparation (ASEP). |
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