U.S. Gov Announces $179M for Literacy, Assessment Boost

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced $179 million in grants focused on supporting academic acceleration for every child, building on the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal to improve academic achievement nationwide. These grants include $149 million in new Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant (CLSD) awards-the largest number of awards ever for this program-and nearly $30 million in Competitive Grants for State Assessments (CGSA) awards. These grant awards were highlighted as part of the Department’s Back to School Bus Tour at an event headlined by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden.

“Literacy is a critical foundation for every student’s success in school and beyond,” said Secretary Cardona. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan has helped states and districts make significant gains in academic progress. The new funding announced today will help states, school districts, and communities continue to develop and implement evidence-based literacy interventions, and ensure that, together, we continue to raise the bar for student academic success, giving every student the best opportunities to succeed.”

This announcement comes as Secretary Cardona is embarking on his 2024 Back to School Bus Tour with stops in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This year’s theme, “Fighting for Public Education,” highlights how school communities are using the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments in public education to implement evidence-based, and promising, innovative strategies to accelerate academic success and support students of all ages and backgrounds. The 2024 Bus Tour will celebrate public education as the American system that opened doors for so many of our nation’s success stories -from astronauts to astrophysicists, writers to engineers, musicians to mathematicians, innovative entrepreneurs in the private sector to great leaders in the public sector.

Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grants (CLSD)

Students reading on grade level by third grade is critical to their future academic success. To advance effective, evidence-based literacy practices, the Department is awarding more than $149 million in new awards to 23 state educational agencies through the CLSD program. This is the first time the Department is making awards in the CLSD program under the Biden-Harris Administration, and this is the largest number of grant awards ever made under the CLSD program. These new grants will support states and educational partners in developing and implementing evidence-based literacy interventions and supports to help students achieve key literacy milestones. They also will help states, school districts, and communities promote equitable access to high-quality literacy instruction and materials for every student. Many states receiving these new awards will partner with state Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to provide districts, schools, and early care and education programs with intensive and targeted support for evidence-based literacy instruction.

A list of all the FY 24 grantees can be found below.

Competitive Grants for State Assessments (CGSA)

The Department will award almost $30 million to 10 state educational agencies (SEAs) through the CGSA program. Through CGSA, the Department is providing funding to states to develop and implement high-quality, innovative, and authentic assessments that improve teaching and learning, and provide timely and meaningful information to educators, parents, and students about student progress. Grantees will improve the utility and instructional relevance of assessment results and develop local capacity to design and implement performance-based assessments, with several grantees focused on supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities.

This year, the CGSA competition prioritized better understanding student academic achievement using multiple, high-quality measures; piloting assessment systems that are more customized and personalized (including competency- and technology-based assessments); supporting effective instruction and building educator capacity through the development of high-quality assessments of student learning; and helping parents and families better understand and use assessment data to support their child’s education. This year’s competition also invited proposals to develop and scale high-quality formative, diagnostic, and/or interim assessments and tools to provide timely and actionable information to educators and parents throughout the school year.

The CGSA grants will help position these states to develop assessment systems that fully align with depth and breadth of state academic standards, measure high-order thinking skills, enhance collaborations between K-12 and postsecondary institutions, emphasize equity considerations in assessment design, and pilot new assessment types, including assessments designed to be more instructionally relevant.

The States and FY 24 award amounts are shown below:

Additional Resources

In addition to historic funding for literacy and state assessments, the Department is issuing additional guidance and resources on how schools and communities can continue providing academic enrichment opportunities and reengage students to fight chronic absenteeism. Today, the Department is releasing guidance for the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) program to help out of school time providers have the biggest possible impact on the over 1 million students who participate in the 21st CCLC. This guidance will help providers craft out-of-school-time programming that supports academic recovery and acceleration.

In addition, the Department is releasing a new resource on how Full-Service Community Schools fight chronic absenteeism. This resource builds on the continued engagement and support the Department has provided, including supporting over 40 states through the Student Engagement and Attendance Center and supporting nearly 200

districts through the Attendance Solutions Network. The resource released today shares information on how district leaders can leverage community schools as a strategy to reduce chronic absenteeism.