Nationally, literacy rates among schoolchildren have become a growing concern, with the average reading scores for high school seniors falling to their lowest level since 1992, according to research from the Nation’s Report Card. Within New Jersey, less than 45% of third graders met or exceeded expectations on state English language arts assessments in spring 2025. Motivated to foster data-driven, equitable literacy instruction across the state, the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery released K-12 guidelines in July 2025 on high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) for literacy instruction. This guidance is a key component of the state’s Literacy Framework, which provides evidence-based recommendations to support effective instruction and intervention in local school districts and charter schools.
To advance this work, the NJDOE awarded almost $13.6 million in grants to school districts across the state for the 2025-2026 school year through the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) program. These awards support districts’ capacity to hire and train literacy coaches, purchase research-aligned curricula, facilitate professional development, and strengthen community engagement in youth literacy.
In New Jersey, school districts select their own curricula. The NJDOE provides tools and resources, such as the New Jersey Literacy Framework, to guide districts in choosing materials that are effective, research-aligned, and standards-based. But what counts as high-quality instructional material, and how do districts identify such material under these improved guidelines?
What are high-quality instructional materials?
The NJDOE defines HQIM as “resources for teaching and learning that are aligned to standards, evidence-based, and designed to support both teachers and students, ultimately promoting effective and equitable instruction.”
According to the New Jersey Literacy Framework, districts should reference external reviews of K-12 instructional resources to determine whether a program is high-quality. If a curriculum has undergone external review, the NJDOE recommends that districts conduct their own rigorous review of the learning materials. The Department offers a scoring rubric for this process that emphasizes evidence of research-based practices, responsiveness to the needs of diverse learners, and attention to the local context.
What does this mean for literacy instruction in New Jersey?
Since former governor Phil Murphy signed comprehensive K-12 literacy legislation in August 2024, the NJDOE has taken significant steps to implement these requirements. Alongside the updates described here, the legislation established universal literacy screenings for all K-3 students to identify students who may need additional support. Further, in April 2026 the NJDOE announced three grant opportunities to support local education agencies aligned to instruction outlined in the Literacy Framework.
Given the New Jersey Literacy Framework’s emphasis on research-based instruction and districts’ increasing ability to make data-driven decisions using universal screener results, New Jerseyans should expect to see more evidence-based literacy instruction happening across the state. For families, this may mean clearer communication about how reading is taught, earlier identification of students who need support, and more opportunities for caregivers to better understand what their children are learning and how to support them at home.