By Irina Perry

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine joined Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) Chancellor Mike Duffey to announce the results of a recent audit into educator preparation programs (EPPs) at colleges and universities across the state, saying that “the Science of Reading gives students of all ability levels the best chance to become strong, independent readers.”

The audit was conducted to determine the extent to which college EPPs in Ohio are aligned with the Science of Reading, as required by state law.

“Decades of research tells us the Science of Reading gives students of all ability levels the best chance to become strong, independent readers,” said Governor DeWine.

“Our kids only have one chance to grow up. We have an obligation to act with great urgency to make sure every future teacher going through our college programs is learning the best way to teach reading.”

In 2023, Governor DeWine worked alongside the Ohio General Assembly to require schools of all levels to become aligned with the Science of Reading. State law gave Ohio colleges and universities that educate future teachers until Jan. 1, 2025, to become fully aligned.

State law also required ODHE to lead an audit of all EPPs to ensure compliance. A review panel that included ODHE and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) together selected The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at the University of Texas to conduct the audits, which began on Jan. 1, 2025, and continued throughout spring semester 2025.

After a detailed review process, Governor DeWine and Chancellor Duffey released the audit results today.

The audit evaluated all 48 institutions statewide with 12-Hour Reading and Literacy Core courses. Of them, 33 programs received a final rating of “In Alignment,” five programs received a final rating of “Partial Alignment,” and 10 programs received a final rating of “Not in Alignment.”

“Many colleges are excelling with their implementation of the Science of Reading. Not only will this improve their students’ job prospects, but it will also make future generations of children better readers,” said Governor DeWine.

“On the other hand, the audit found that there were still several institutions that had more work to do to become fully aligned.”

With the release of these audit results, institutions have one year from today to become fully aligned with the Science of Reading.

If any institutions do not meet this deadline, state law requires the Chancellor of Higher Education to revoke approval for their reading/literacy educator preparation programs.

“We understood going in that getting all of our institutions to 100% alignment with the law would require considerable time and effort,” said Chancellor Duffey.

“The good news is that we are seeing tremendous progress. Just as a teacher does not expect every student to ace the test, we did not expect our colleges to be practically perfect in every way. We are feeling positive, however, about the ability of every institution to meet the standard within the time provided by the General Assembly – one year from today.”

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