The Reading Specialist Certification Program at Penn State Harrisburg is designed to provide full-time and part-time graduate students with a focused program of study leading to a Pennsylvania Department of Education certificate as a reading specialist. The program is aligned with the standards of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Following successful completion of the program, students are eligible to take the Praxis examination for certification as a reading specialist (K-12). Specifically, the goals of the program are to develop in students: (1) specialized, in-depth knowledge about the teaching of reading and writing; (2) the clinical skills necessary for diagnosing and intervening with reading disabled students; (3) the ability to interpret and to evaluate literacy research, (4) the literacy leadership skills necessary to support the professional practices in a K-12 setting; (5) provide rigorous offerings aligned with the standards of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE); and (6) prepare students for the complexities they will face as reading specialists in schools serving the K-12 population.

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