Kansas reading successes gain national attention

The success of students in an elementary reading program in Kansas has caught the eyes of literacy experts across the country.

An Emporia State University study found that four of five struggling first grade readers kept pace with their classmates through an early intervention program called Reading Recovery. Those students who completed lessons in first grade sustained their gains through fourth grade and compared favorably with class averages.

The study, prepared by ESU researchers Connie Briggs and Brian Young, was requested by members of the Kansas House and Senate Legislative Education Planning Committee. It was published in fall issue of The Journal of Reading Recovery.

The authors will present their findings to the Kansas Senate Education Committee on Monday, January 26.

“Performance and accountability measures are key considerations by legislative policymakers,” said Senate Majority Leader Lana Oleen. “Reading Recovery sets the bar in achieving results. It is an essential component in helping close the achievement gap.”

Reading Recovery targets first-graders who have extreme difficulty learning to read and write. These children receive individual 30-minute daily lessons from a highly trained teacher. Lessons promote accelerated learning so that students can catch up to their peers as quickly as possible and continue learning independently.

Long-term data collected by the National Data Evaluation Center at Ohio State University shows that 80 percent of students who complete the full series of lessons are able to read and write at grade level.

At a time when states are using test results to help with difficult education funding decisions, the study supports the long-term effectiveness of Reading Recovery.

In the study, the authors compared fourth-grade reading scores on the standardized Gates MacGinitie Reading Test using a random sample of former Reading Recovery students with a comparison group of students from schools that had been matched for size, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. The comparison schools did not have Reading Recovery in 1998-1999.

The study reported that former Reading Recovery students who successfully completed lessons in first grade scored very near or above the comparison group of students on vocabulary, comprehension, and overall reading scores in fourth grade. This means that formerly lowest-performing students – those who would be expected to be at the bottom of their class in fourth grade -- sustained the gains they made during Reading Recovery lessons and were able to keep up with their average peers in the classroom.

The study also found positive results for Reading Recovery students with incomplete lessons, those who had moved or whose lessons ended because they ran out of time at the end of the academic year. Students with incomplete Reading Recovery lessons performed at or near average levels of the comparison group.

Researchers also pointed to positive outcomes for the small group of students who were recommended for further evaluation after a complete course of Reading Recovery lessons. For these children, Reading Recovery was a period of intense, diagnostic teaching that allowed schools to efficiently identify children who needed further testing and perhaps long-term special education programs. Nationally, about 17 percent of students are recommended for further evaluation.

Follow-up studies of Reading Recovery students from Texas, Indiana, and California have also reported that Reading Recovery students continue to perform with the average range when compared with their peers.

FULL STUDY AVAILABLE AT:

http://www.emporia.edu/readingrecovery/reports.htm

Last Updated July 2, 2007>