What is a Reading Specialist?

Very generally, a reading specialist is an educator who specializes in or who has expertise in teaching reading. However, like a lot of terms in education, reading specialist means different things in different contexts. At the Reading Specialist Directory, reading specialists are individual educators who work individually with students on their reading. They may teach additional English language arts skills, such as writing or spelling. Usually, they teach students who are having difficulty learning to read and write or students who are having difficulty improving their reading and writing. Reading specialists on the directory may work exclusively as an independent reading specialist, or they may have a “day job” as a general or special education teacher.

In public education, where each state maintains its own system of certification or licensure, reading specialist is often a title of a teaching license. To earn that title, a teacher usually begins by earning a general teaching credential or license, then completes approved coursework, a graduate program, exams, and/or experience to earn an official reading specialist credential. Someone with a reading specialist credential can provide instruction in schools, coach other teachers, and take the lead in decision-making about literacy programming.

Many universities offer graduate programs in reading instruction, usually a master’s degree. These degrees have a lot of names: MS in Reading and Literacy, Master of Arts in Reading, M.Ed. in Reading Specialist, Literacy Specialist, MAED in Reading and Writing Education, to name a few.

Informally in schools, any school employee who provides extra reading instruction to students is sometimes called a reading specialist. This person can be a teacher or a teaching assistant. The extra help can be provided in another room (pull-out method) or right there in the classroom (push-in method).

Some private organizations that focus on preparing educators to work with students on reading have their own certification process. For instance, Orton-Gillingham and UFLI offer certification programs in their particular approach to addressing reading difficulties. Some of the reading specialists in the directory have earned certifications through private organizations.

In this directory, all credentials, licenses, and certifications have been self-reported by each reading specialist. You can learn more about what these mean by reading more articles in the blog series. Also, we encourage families to talk with a specialist to find out more about their qualifications, areas of expertise, and approach to teaching reading.