This program evaluation investigated differences in reading achievement for students receiving Reading Recovery or Developmental First Grade. The researcher examined DRA reading scores during the first and second grade and STAR reading scores from second grade through middle school for students in a rural public school district in Northeastern…

Describes the rationale for the Camden (New Jersey) Direct Instruction project, an instructional system used in elementary schools. Presents two studies completed by the project in 1984-85: a study of the improvement of reading instruction and a study of the use of Direct Instruction in "transitional classrooms" with students having…

This report documents the evaluation of selected Portland, Oregon, Public Schools elementary and middle school literacy instructional programs and professional development models in 2000-2001. The literacy evolution examined the use of four reading intervention programs and professional development models as well as district adoptions of publisher…

Results for 113 students and 59 comparisons from an evaluation of a three-year Success for All program under difficult circumstances show positive effects for the kindergarten component but largely negative effects in grades two and three. Evaluations of the program should assess its goal of getting all students to read at grade level by grade…

Two adaptations of Success for All, a comprehensive instructional reform program for elementary schools, have been used with students acquiring English as a second language. One is a Spanish bilingual version called "Exito para Todos," in which students are taught to read in Spanish and then transitioned to English reading, usually in…

Investigates effects of the Success for All (SFA) program on elementary school students' reading achievement in 4 cities. Finds greater achievement for students in SFA classes at 3 sites, especially for students achieving below the 25th percentile, relative to students in control classrooms, but effects were not as strong and consistent as in the…

Everyone who graduates from high school truly literate starts to develop that literacy in the earliest grades. Educators must look to schools where students are achieving the highest literacy standards and identify the practices that enable them to achieve those goals. This report tells the stories of eight such schools--Portland Elementary School…

This technical report presents third-year analyses of the progress of five Maryland elementary schools participating in a multi-school, multi-district implementation of the Core Knowledge Curriculum (E. Hirsch, 1987, 1996). Third-year results are presented in the areas of implementation and outcomes. Factors clearly affecting implementation of…

The Accelerated Schools Approach is a whole-school reform being implemented in more than 1,000 U.S. elementary and middle schools. The program is characterized by a school structure that sets high expectations for students and teachers, a governance structure with broad teacher participation, and a "powerful learning" approach to…

This study compares average SAT 9 reading scores of second through fifth grade English-only children in schools using "Open Court" (a program for teaching young children to read) with the scores of comparable schools using non-scripted programs in one very large urban school district in California. Findings show that schools using…

Describes a reading intervention program that combined a modified enrichment program with cross-age tutoring and that resulted in significant gains in reading for both students and tutors. (SR)

Among 56 Mexican American fifth-graders participating in two-way bilingual education for 3 years or more, standardized test scores of both English-dominant and Spanish-dominant participants equalled or surpassed those of nonparticipant peers. Participants developed high levels of English literacy skills, but Spanish literacy was not as well…

This report presents results of a study involving the School Renaissance program. The School Renaissance Learning package includes the Accelerated Reader program, which has been shown to improve students' reading achievement and reading attitudes. Four elementary schools were chosen for the study, which included two treatment schools (designated…

The Augmenting Thinking through Language Acquisition Skills (ATTLAS) program was designed to increase analytical thinking abilities and English language capabilities of limited English proficient (LEP) elementary school students. The program concentrates on first through third grades, although there are some pull-out classes for grades 4-6; and…

A study evaluated the Schoolwide Early Language and Literacy (SWELL) program using four Australian disadvantaged schools. Two schools implemented the program in the kindergarten year, while the other two schools pursued regular kindergarten curriculum. Children in the program outperformed others on words read in context, but not on words read in…