Eastern Oregon University earns top marks for teacher reading prep
EOU’s teacher prep programs earned A+ ratings for reading instruction, a boost that could strengthen the teacher pipeline for Union County schools.
Eastern Oregon University’s teacher-preparation programs just picked up A+ ratings for reading instruction, a result that could ripple far beyond La Grande into Union County classrooms still struggling to find licensed teachers. The recognition puts EOU among the strongest programs in the country for teaching future elementary educators how to build early literacy skills.
The National Council on Teacher Quality’s 2026 Teacher Prep Review, Decoding Progress in Reading Preparation, evaluated elementary teacher-preparation programs against seven research-backed standards and reviewed more than 1,200 programs nationwide. EOU’s undergraduate elementary program and its Master of Arts in Teaching: Elementary Education program were each tracked separately and each earned the top mark.
The review focuses on the reading foundations children need most: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. That is the part of teacher training that matters most in rural districts, where a weak start in reading can follow a student for years and where schools often have the hardest time holding onto licensed teachers.
EOU said the distinction reflects more than a single course or instructor. The university’s College of Education described its preparation model as one that blends classroom learning with substantial in-school experience. Its MAT in Elementary Education is a full-time, intensive program that combines full-time in-classroom professional experience with academic preparation. EOU also said its College of Education reaches students both on campus and online, extending its reach well beyond La Grande and into districts across Oregon.
For Union County and rural eastern Oregon, that reach matters. Oregon’s Educator Advancement Council says its Grow Your Own grants are designed to help rural districts facing chronic shortages of licensed teachers and administrators, including in high-need areas such as special education, bilingual education and school leadership. A 2025 Oregon higher-education study also found that proximity to teacher-preparation programs matters in teacher workforce development, which helps explain why a La Grande-based program can carry outsized weight for nearby districts.
The contrast with the rest of the state is sharp. WW reported that most of Oregon’s public teacher-prep programs received F grades in the same reading-preparation review, making EOU’s A+ results stand out even more. EOU also said its College of Education programs are accredited by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, giving the La Grande campus a credentialed pipeline at a time when rural schools are still looking for dependable answers to staffing gaps.
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