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Naomi Hupert, Project Leader, REL-NEI

Adolescent Literacy: State Efforts, Classroom Strategies (77 min.)

VIEW WEBINAR SLIDES (12 MB)

In this interactive session, researchers presented key findings from two newly published Issues & Answers Reports from REL Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) and REL Central:

• “Five States’ Efforts to Improve Adolescent Literacy” (REL Northeast and Islands): This report describes efforts by five states—Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Rhode Island—to improve adolescent literacy. Highlighting common challenges and lessons, the report examines how each state has engaged key stakeholders, set rigorous goals and standards, aligned resources to support adolescent literacy goals, built educator capacity, and used data to measure progress.

• Helen Apthorp, Senior Director, REL Central

  “Using Strategy Instruction to Help Struggling High Schoolers Understand What They Read” (REL Central): The evidence indicates that peer-assisted learning can have a substantively important positive effect on struggling high school students’ reading comprehension. But reservations remain about attributing improved comprehension to peer-assisted learning because the students were not randomly assigned to the intervention in the one study that met evidence standards.

In addition, Deborah Backus, Chief Academic Officer of Jefferson County Schools in Colorado, discussed the relevancy of the reports to her district’s efforts and strategies to improve adolescent literacy among its students.

Presenters:

• Naomi Hupert, REL-NEI; Project Leader, Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC); Co-author, “Five States’ Efforts to Improve Adolescent Literacy”
• Helen S. Apthorp, REL Central; Senior Director, Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL); Co-author, “Using Strategy Instruction to Help Struggling High Schoolers Understand What They Read”
• Deborah Backus, Discussant; Chief Academic Officer, Jefferson County Schools, Colorado
• Carole Urbano, Technical Moderator, REL-NEI at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)

More Information:

Related REL Research:

• A Description of Foundation Skills Interventions for Struggling Middle-Grade Readers in Four Urban Northeast and Islands Region School Districts (REL-NEI)
• “Coach” Can Mean Many Things: Five Categories of Literacy Coaches in Reading First (REL Northwest)
• An Analysis of Utah's K–3 Reading Improvement Program (REL West)

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• Learn More about Regional Educational Laboratories
• Ask a Research Question

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