This report highlights the enduring importance of our Young Readers Programme by providing children with impactful positive reading experiences as well as opportunities to choose and, crucially, keep books. This is particularly important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, with over 1 in 4 children who receive free school meals telling us…

Success for All (SFA) is a comprehensive whole-school approach designed to help high-poverty elementary schools increase the reading success of their students. It is designed to ensure success in grades K-2 and then build on this success in later grades. SFA combines instruction emphasizing phonics and cooperative learning, one-to-small group…

Up until 2020, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores had increased only slightly since the early 1990s with large achievement gaps for students of color and students living in poverty. Modest gains in fourth grade reading proficiency since 1992 were erased during the pandemic. The insufficient progress in reading even…

There is a significant lack of students in Tennessee who are reading at a proficient level. According to the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment data, nationally only 37% of fourth grade students are reading at a proficient level. Specifically, in the state of Tennessee, only 35% of fourth graders scored in…

Background: Efficacy trials in education often possess a motivating theory of change: how and why should the desired improvement in outcomes occur as a consequence of the intervention? In scenarios with repeated measurements, certain subgroups may be more or less likely to manifest a treatment effect; the theory of change (TOC) provides guidance…

Purpose: The effectiveness of the 14-component evidence-based whole-school reform Success for All (SfA) has been well established, but research on its implementation is limited although fidelity of implementation is vital for the effectiveness of such a program. This review sheds light on this issue. Design/Approach/Methods: A systematic…

Improving reading instruction is one of the hottest topics in K-12 education today. It is also one of the most complex, encompassing pedagogy, policy, and politics -- all rooted in a long history of arguments about the best way to teach kids to read. This analysis is a primer on the "Science of Reading" and efforts to implement it across…

Since 2018, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has worked in more than 80 countries to ensure that children and youth have access to the education and skills they need to be productive members of society. The launch of USAID's Education Policy in 2018 encouraged USAID Missions to be as adaptive, flexible, and responsive…

This exploratory investigation examined the transformation of a traditional summer reading intervention (SRI) to synchronous virtual format in response to school closures due to COVID-19. Goals were to adapt and describe the adaptation of the in-person intervention to the virtual environment, examine program outcomes, and understand tutor and…

Theory and empirical work suggest that teachers' social capital influences school improvement efforts. Social ties are prerequisite for social capital, yet little causal evidence exists on how malleable factors, such as instructional management approaches, affect teachers' ties. In this cluster-randomized trial, we apply a decision-making…

Leaders across North Carolina believe strongly in the potential for all students to read proficiently by 3rd grade. Yet despite significant effort and investment, only 36% of 4th graders are at or above proficient in reading. The Belk Foundation, in partnership with The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), The Foundation for…

In Uganda and other low-resource settings, too few children are learning to read in the early grades. In response, countries have embarked on reading reform programs, often with external support. Unfortunately, rigorous evidence of these programs' impact remains limited. This article presents the causal impact on reading outcomes of the US Agency…

In 2021, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund convened with Kids Hope Alliance, Duval County Public Schools, READ USA, WJCT, Jacksonville Public Library, and others along with Lectio Consulting to plan out the initial stages of the "READJAX" Campaign, with the goal of improving 3rd grade literacy in Duval County. This brief summarizes…

Narrative inquiry has long been respected as a qualitative approach to researching the lived experiences of participants. Used widely in educational research the approach enables insights into the practices, perspectives and preferences of teachers, most often considering a small number of participants within a close circle of influence. In…

In "Teaching with Literacy Programs," Patricia A. Edwards, Kristen L. White, Laura J. Hopkins, and Ann M. Castle present a model that allows educators to address educational inequity through the critical and adaptive use of existing literacy curriculum materials. In this accessible work, they advise educators on ways to combine common…