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The Reference Desk, using available evidence and research, provides quick-turnaround responses to questions submitted by education stakeholders around the Northeast and Islands Region. Every Friday, REL-NEI highlights one or two questions submitted to its Reference Desk.
Recent Research, Reports, and Practice Guides on Literacy Instruction
The Reference Desk received this question in early June 2009 from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE). The question coincided not only with a number of other questions regarding literacy instruction but also with the release of three new reports on early literacy instruction from the What Works Clearinghouse. The Reference Desk looked at this new research as well as other recent research to provide a response to the ESE.
Question
What contemporary research is available on reading instruction, and what are the findings?
Research Synopsis
A number of recent research studies specifically address reading instruction models for a range of age groups. Among reports that included potentially positive results is the What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report on SuccessMaker®. Despite this potentially positive finding, a number of other studies had more mixed results.
Publicly Available Resources
- National Evaluation of Early Reading First: Final Report to Congress. Russell Jackson, Ann McCoy, Carol Pistorino, Anna Wilkinson, John Burghardt, Melissa Clark, Christine Ross, Peter Schochet, and Paul Swank; U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, NCEE 2007-4007; May 2007; 245 pages.
Source: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
From page xii, “The main findings of the national evaluation of ERF are that the program had positive, statistically significant impacts on several classroom and teacher outcomes and on one of four child outcomes measured…. With regard to child outcomes, ERF had a positive impact on children’s print and letter knowledge but not on phonological awareness or oral language…. ERF neither enhanced nor diminished children’s social-emotional development during the preschool year.”
From page xxii, “In the spring, ERF had pervasive impacts on the general quality of the preschool classroom—the classroom language environment, materials, and teaching practices that support early literacy, and child-assessment practices…. In the spring, ERF had impacts on all domains of classroom language, early literacy, and assessment practices.”
- What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report on SuccessMaker®. June 2009; 7 pages.
Source: What Works Clearinghouse, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
“The SuccessMaker® program is a set of computer-based courses used to supplement regular classroom reading instruction in grades K–8. Using adaptive lessons tailored to a student’s reading level, SuccessMaker® aims to improve understanding in areas such as phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and concepts of print.” From page 1, “SuccessMaker® was found to have no discernible effects on alphabetics and reading fluency, and potentially positive effects on comprehension and general literacy achievement.”
- Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades. A practice guide. Russell Gersten, Donald Compton, Carol M. Connor, Joseph Dimino, Lana Santoro, Sylvia Linan-Thompson, and W. David Tilly; U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, NCEE 2009-4045; February 2009; 54 pages.
Source: What Works Clearinghouse, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
From page 1, Introduction, “In the primary grades students with reading difficulties may need intervention to prevent future reading failure. This guide offers specific recommendations to help educators identify students in need of intervention and implement evidence-based interventions to promote their reading achievement. It also describes how to carry out each recommendation, including how to address potential roadblocks in implementing them.”
Download the Full Response
If this material brings up questions of your own, please submit a new request here. If you’re interested in learning more about the Reference Desk, read about us here. And finally, share thoughts, experiences, and resources of your own in our Feedback section below.
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