Wilson certification helps you teach students with reading disabilities. Discover how to get the Wilson Certification for Reading.

How to get the Wilson certification for reading

There are many programs available to aid students with reading comprehension. These programs serve as a how-to for teaching English. They incorporate word study, with some programs covering almost every school year.

The Wilson Reading System is one of those programs.

The system is an intensive intervention that uses research-based techniques. It uses coursework to help students with encoding, decoding, and general reading success. Here, we look at the program and what you need to do to gain certification.

What is the Wilson Reading System?

The Wilson Reading System (WRS) is part of the Wilson Language Training program. It takes a multi-tiered and multisensory approach offering intensive instruction in reading.

As this is a multi-tiered program, you can think of each tier as WRS steps. Students progress through the tiers, with each becoming a practicum student capable of word identification. It covers every grade level from K-3 to Grade 12, ensuring student success in reading.

The program also confronts word-level deficits, making it ideal for special education. As such, it’s often used to teach students with dyslexia.

The WRS splits into three tiers.

Tier 1 – Wilson Fundations

This systematic learning program covers the following areas:

• Phonics
• Phonemic awareness
• High-frequency word study
• Vocabulary
• Handwriting
• Spelling
• Reading fluency
• Comprehension techniques

Tier 1 applies to the K-3 level, though it also includes Pre-K strategies. It’s a prevention program that reduces spelling and reading failure.

Tier 2 – Just Words

WRS Level II is taught to students between Grade 4 and Grade 12. It takes a multisensory structured language approach to help students with mild gaps in reading proficiency.

This tier doesn’t require intensive intervention. Instead, it’s designed to help teachers work with students who have below-average decoding skills. A Tier 2 lesson plan usually focuses on teaching students how English works.

Tier 3 – The Wilson Reading System

Tier 3 focuses on students who aren’t making enough progress in Tier 2. It uses Orton-Gillingham principles to create more intensive WRS instruction. It’s intended for students with language-based learning disabilities, such as those with dyslexia.

This tier takes a practicum approach that includes instruction in the following areas:

• Word structure
• Listening comprehension
• Reading comprehension
• Word recognition
• Narrative text structures
• Proofreading
• Information organization
• Sentence reading
• Self-monitoring

The WRS is currently in its 4th edition. The WRS 4th Edition includes a revised instructor manual. Plus, it offers more advanced monitoring for the program’s practicum approach.

Getting certified

The Wilson Reading System certification is an IDA Accreditation Plus program. It helps teachers to implement WRS Steps 1-6 practicum study with their students. Specifically, it focuses on helping educators teach students whose current test results are below grade level.

The entire program is available at wilsonlanguage.com.

Before you can take the WRS certification, you must complete the WRS Introductory Course. This is a prerequisite. Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree in education or a similar field to take this course.

Assuming you complete the introductory course, you can work toward WRS certification. There are two certification levels.

The WRS Level I Certification Program

WRS Level I Certification is an online course that contains 90 hours of coursework. It also includes 60 supervised lessons with a Wilson® credentialed trainer.

As a trainee, you must demonstrate the following to earn your certificate:

• An extremely sophisticated knowledge of the system and structure of English
• The ability to teach fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary
• Understanding of the diagnostic techniques required to teach those with reading disabilities

Once you graduate from this program, you’ll have the ability to use the program to help individual students. You also become eligible to receive professional graduate credits from Wilson Language Training. You also become a Wilson® dyslexia practitioner (W.D.P) with this certification.

Think of being Level I Certified as your route to more complex training programs. For example, many who pass Level I go on to become accredited partners of the program.

The WRS Level II Certification Program

A small percentage of those who complete Level I training go on to Level II. Even so, anybody with a Level I certificate can take this course.

Level II incorporates Steps 7-12 practicum and expands the learner’s knowledge of the WRS. You must deliver 50 successful lessons to a WRS-approved student. Additionally, you must submit at least three video lessons for review and feedback.

The certification currently costs $1,250. You can study online or at an accredited facility, such as Fitchburg State University.

Boost reading skills further with Speechify

Post-testing, you may wonder what tools you can use to put your professional learning into practice. The WRS teaches many techniques. However, you can build on those techniques with the right technology.

Enter Speechify.

Speechify is a text to speech app that reads digital content aloud. It also has optical character recognition technology that allows it to scan physical text.

The app is ideal for helping students with reading disabilities understand language. You can use Speechify as a tool to teach pronunciation and letter formation. It also helps dyslexic students due to its ability to read text aloud.

Speechify is currently available in over 14 languages. You can download it for iOS, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. Plus, it’s available as a Google Chrome extension. Try the app for free online to learn more about Speechify.

FAQ

Who qualifies for the Wilson Reading Program?

You qualify to study for the Wilson Reading Program if you have an appropriate Bachelor’s degree and take the prerequisite course.

What does it mean to be Wilson certified?

If you’re Wilson-certified, you have the proven ability to work with students who have special reading needs. The certification shows that you’ve completed an intensive study course.

How long does Wilson certification last?

Wilson Level I certification lasts for five years. You must re-take the course to maintain your certificate.

How long does the Wilson Reading training take?

You must complete 90 hours of coursework and 60 in-class lessons. The course may take several months to complete.

What is the cost of Wilson certification?

Level I certification costs $2,450 and Level II costs $1,250. There are also advanced strategy courses and workshops available, costing between $259 and $599.