Boosting literacy among school-age children remains a national priority. Nearly one third of students in the United States have not developed the foundational reading skills needed to succeed academically, with students living in poverty, students with disabilities, and English learners especially at risk. Starting in 2010, Congress invested more…

Drawing on administrative data and reading achievement data provided by two Midwestern school districts for three participating Kids Read Now schools, this successive year study provides the opportunity to study the reading outcomes of Kids Read Now students. Relying on data from the three schools, we contrast the reading outcomes for KRN student…

Peer coaching involves two or more professionals collaborating to reflect on and refine current skills and practices (Yee, 2016). The peer coaching model described in this article focused on grades K-2, a critical time for the development of students' reading skills. In the 2022-23 school year, a small pilot study was conducted of a program based…

Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term early intervention designed to help the lowest-achieving readers in first grade reach average levels of classroom performance in literacy. Students identified to receive Reading Recovery meet individually with a specially trained Reading Recovery (RR) teacher every school day for 30-minute lessons over a…

This study explores the outcomes of policy implementation from the perspective of the policy makers and the educators who are charged with implementation, specifically examining the decision-making process for district leaders during implementation. The study identifies the outcomes from the perspective of the policy-maker utilizing accountability…

A key to reducing reading difficulty, particularly for children living in poverty, is to provide high quality, explicit, and well-planned instruction from the start of a child's school career. Preschools that provide quality language, literacy, and content instruction have produced promising positive effects on children's later academic…

This article highlights key points in the process of collaboration, creation, and assessment of a digital exhibit that tells the story of a larger digital collection, and its use in project-based assignments for a course on women's sporting experiences. The exhibit is intended to be both a classroom research tool and a model of digital…

From October 2006 to June 2011, the Ohio Department of Youth Services (ODYS) implemented Scholastic's Read 180 program in the seven DYS high schools. Read 180, a daily 90-minute structured reading program, is composed of five components -- whole group, individualized learning, computer activities, small group, and wrap up. The program was offered…

This study examined the relationship between response to intervention (RTI) implementation integrity in reading and student reading outcomes. Data were collected from 64 principals and school psychologists at 43 elementary schools. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the degree to which implementation of RTI tiers and key components…

This article examines a unique intervention in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to uncover the causal impact on school performance of an evaluation system based on highly structured classroom observations of teacher practice. An iterative process of observation and conferencing focused on improving lesson planning and preparation, the classroom…

"The Electric Company" ("TEC") television show won the hearts of children because it made learning fun. Thirty years later, the iconic show has returned with the goal of not only teaching literacy, but also numeracy (the ability to work with and understand numbers) and mathematics vocabulary in a fun, entertaining, and engaging…

Although a growing body of research points to the critical need to foster reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills for students in order to ensure their success in college, careers, and life, these efforts have tended to focus more on developing literacy skills in the early years, often ignoring secondary students. The outcome has…

Rigorous research provides information that will allow other schools and districts to select interventions that have a scientifically based track record of effectiveness. All Striving Reader grants include the mandate to evaluate literacy intervention(s) targeted to adolescents who are reading significantly below grade level. Although all studies…

The Phonics Demonstration Project was developed through the Ohio Department of Education as a means for introducing systematic, direct phonics instruction in the primary grades. Twenty-one Ohio school districts participated in the program. Initial year evaluation of the project focused on whether systematic, intensive phonics instruction was being…

This paper describes Ohio's progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. The sections presented in this report highlight key accomplishments made by Ohio to implement a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform over the reporting period in the…