麻豆传媒映画

As a high school teacher with nearly two decades years of experience, 麻豆传媒映画 alumna Tracy Duvall (鈥�25) knows a thing or two about what works in the classroom. And she is quite clear about the difference 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 M.A. in Reading and Literacy Education has made for her students.

"Right now I'm still an English teacher, but having the knowledge that a literacy specialist has to do interventions and to assess is really helpful,鈥� said Duval, who teaches in Lompoc on California鈥檚 Central Coast. 鈥淚 feel like I understand where my students are at with their reading skills in a lot more depth now. And I have a lot of practical applications I can use to support them.鈥�

Duvall鈥檚 experience tracks with new rankings released on Tuesday. 

U.S. News & World Report鈥檚 2026 rankings show 麻豆传媒映画 at No. 5 in Best Online Master's in Education Programs. It marks the third straight year the university has appeared in the top five nationally. 麻豆传媒映画 also placed No. 10 in a new category, Best Online Master's in Curriculum and Instruction Programs.

The impressive showing was a shared accomplishment for three online offerings in the School of Teacher Education: the M.A. in Reading and Literacy Education, and M.A.T. programs in Elementary Education and Secondary Education.

鈥淭he excellence of our online master's programs in education is not only a point of pride for our college, it is a valuable asset to K-12 education across our region,鈥� said Y. Barry Chung, dean of the College of Education. 鈥淪an Diego State is known widely as a source of high-quality professional development for teachers, giving them the ability to advance in their career while better reaching and empowering generations of students.鈥�

Duvall, who has taught English for 17 years in California and Nevada, initially sought out master鈥檚 programs in literacy because she found that many of her teenage students still need to develop basic skills. She wanted more training to identify and address struggling readers and writers. 

But as a working parent, an online program was the only way she could make it fit her busy schedule.

鈥淚 wanted to get a degree from a reputable school and, since I had gotten my teaching certificate at Sonoma State, I knew I liked the CSU system,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 chose San Diego State because I felt like the timeline for completing it was really doable. I really liked that I could do it in one academic year and two summers.鈥�

Fostering community

Still, Duvall admits she was initially skeptical that online learning would be a positive experience, particularly after the struggles of teaching via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. But she was pleasantly surprised that her program allowed her to build strong relationships with both faculty and her fellow teachers.

鈥淭he professors were really great at fostering community, even though it was in a Zoom format,鈥� Duvall said. 鈥淚t changed my mind about it. The cohort I went through with was just absolutely amazing. I feel like they're all my friends. We had a good group text where we all supported each other, which was an awesome bonus.

鈥淚 had no idea how supported I was going to be or how manageable it was going to be.鈥�

This year, as her high school seniors are reading Aldous Huxley鈥檚 鈥淏rave New World鈥� and her 10th graders are making their way through 鈥淭he Secret Life of Bees鈥� by Sue Monk Kidd, Duvall has extra tools in her tool box. Through the program, she says she gained a deeper understanding of how reading happens cognitively and how decoding skills are developed.

鈥淚t's helped me understand the levels that I'm working with and making sure that the students are all supported,鈥� Duvall said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really trying to build in a lot more activities that inspire a love of reading and a love of writing because that鈥檚 how they鈥檙e going to grow. 

鈥淚t really affirmed a more student-centered approach, which goes really well with my teaching style.鈥�