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The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, released its interim report [PDF] on the Reading First Impact Study, a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's $1 billion-per-year initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. This interim report presents the impacts of Reading First on classroom reading instruction and student reading comprehension during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years in 17 school districts across 12 states and one statewide program (18 sites). The report examines program impacts on students' reading comprehension and teachers' use of scientifically based reading instruction.
Key findings include:
- On average, across the 18 participating sites, estimated impacts on student reading comprehension test scores were not statistically significant.
- On average, Reading First increased instructional time spent on the five essential components of reading instruction promoted by the program (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension).
- Average impacts on reading comprehension and classroom instruction did not change systematically over time as sites gained experience with Reading First.
- Study sites that received their Reading First grants later in the federal funding process (between January and August 2004) experienced positive and statistically significant impacts both on the time first and second grade teachers spent on the five essential components of reading instruction and on first and second grade reading comprehension. Time spent on the five essential components was not assessed for third grade, and impacts on third grade reading comprehension were not statistically significant. In contrast, there were no statistically significant impacts on either time spent on the five components of reading instruction or on reading comprehension scores at any grade level among study sites that received their Reading First grants earlier in the federal funding process (between April and December 2003).
Some critics are concluding that the Reading First program fails to boost reading skills. A final report on the impacts from 2004-2007 (three school years with Reading First funding) and on the relationships between changes in instructional practice and student reading comprehension is expected early 2009.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 created the Reading First program to provide assistance to states and districts to use research-based reading programs for students in kindergarten through third grade, as well as related instructional materials, assessments, and teacher professional development. The purpose of the program is to increase the proportion of students reading at/above grade level, help students obtain adequate mastery of the essential components of early reading, and ensure that all students can read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The law also required an independent, rigorous evaluation of the program.
For more information contact Catherine D. Clarke, ASHA's Director of Education and Regulatory Advocacy, at cclarke@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 5611.
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