This applied dissertation was designed to improve reading achievement of 2nd- and 3rd-grade students in 2004–2005. For 6 years, on end-of-grade tests, no higher than 75% of the 3rd-students had performed at grade level. Students were most deficient in the higher level thinking skills of comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency.
A Reading First Grant was secured to fund 4 reading programs in an attempt to ensure that 80% of the 2nd- and 3rd-grade students reached proficiency level in reading: Harcourt Trophies, the Waterford Early Reading Program, Junior Great Books (JGB), and Accelerated Reader (AR). The principal, reading coach, or reading consultant observed teachers weekly using a skill-specific instrument to assure that reading strategies were implemented appropriately. Reading time was increased from 30 minutes a day to 120 minutes a day. Students were provided additional reading time in optional 45-minute tutorial sessions after school where AR and JGB were utilized by teachers and volunteers.
The Standardized Test of Achievement in Reading (STAR) and the Texas Primary Reading Instrument (TPRI) were administered in August 2004 to establish baseline data. Both tests were administered again in January and March 2005 to measure progress. In March 2005, TPRI results showed that of the 2nd-grade students, 51% were independent readers, 93% comprehended at a proficient level, and 53% had increased in fluency. Of the 3rd-grade students, 84% were independent readers, 71% comprehended at a proficient level in reading, and 55% had increased in fluency. The results of the STAR in March indicated that 71% of the 2nd-grade students and 50% of the 3rd-grade students were proficient in reading. Although 80% of the third graders did not achieve proficiency in reading, the average grade equivalent for reading did improve from 2.4 to 2.7. Although 80% of the second graders did not achieve proficiency, the average grade equivalent for reading did improve from 1.8 to 2.4. Students who participated in the afterschool program outperformed students who did not attend the tutoring sessions.
|School:||Nova Southeastern University|
|School Location:||United States -- Florida|
|Source:||DAI-A 70/01, Dissertation Abstracts International|
|Subjects:||Elementary education, Literacy, Reading instruction|
|Keywords:||Elementary school, Reading, Reading First, Reading improvement strategies, Reading strategies, Rural education, Strategies to improve reading, Tutoring|
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