This paper presents evidence confirming the validity of the RD design in the Reading Recovery study by examining the ability of the RD design to replicate the 1st grade results observed in the original i3 RCT focused on short-term impacts. Over 1,800 schools participated in the RD study over all four cohort years. The RD design used cutoff-based…

This study examined the effects of Reading Recovery on children's motivational levels, and how motivation may contribute to the effect of the intervention on literacy achievement. Prior studies concluded that Reading Recovery was positively associated with increased student motivation levels, but most of those studies were limited…

Purpose: This study investigated cumulative effects of language learning, specifically whether prior vocabulary knowledge or special education status moderated the effects of academic vocabulary instruction in high-poverty schools. Method: Effects of a supplemental intervention targeting academic vocabulary in first through third grades were…

This study reports the results of a cluster RCT evaluating the impact of Enhanced Core Reading Instruction on reading achievement of grade 1 at-risk readers. Forty-four elementary schools, blocked by district, were randomly assigned to condition. In both conditions, at-risk readers received 90 minutes of whole-group instruction (Tier 1) plus an…

With the emergence of response to intervention as a key element for supporting school success for all students, there is a need for teachers to know which interventions have been found to be effective. Some interventions have been validated with a number of research studies, but new interventions also need such validation. This study was a program…

We use data from one of the few states where information on curriculum adoptions is available--Indiana--to empirically evaluate differences in performance across three elementary-mathematics curricula. The three curricula that we evaluate were popular nationally during the time of our study, and two of the three remain popular today. We find large…

Reading Recovery (RR), an early intervention reading program, is designed to push a lagging learner to accelerate. In this study, the researcher compared reading comprehension and fluency growth for struggling first graders who participated in a traditional reading program only as compared to those in a traditional program plus a RR program. The…

The purpose of this study was to compare the variety, complexity, and frequency of reading behaviors of three groups of first grade students--students who discontinued from Reading Recovery (D-RR), students who did not discontinue from Reading Recovery (ND-RR), and students who never needed Reading Recovery (A-NRR). Students were asked to read…

This appendix provides the details that underlie the analyses reported in the evaluation brief, "After Two Years, Three Elementary Math Curricula Outperform a Fourth." The details are organized in six sections: Study Curricula and Design (Section A), Data Collection (Section B), Construction of the Analysis File (Section C), Curriculum…

This article examines the effectiveness of four elementary school math curricula: (a) "Investigations in Number, Data, and Space"; (b) "Math Expressions"; (c) "Saxon Math"; and (d) "Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics" ("SFAW"). These curricula are distinct from one another and represent many…

This study examined the effectiveness of a little book curriculum in facilitating the independent word-solving skills of first-grade readers. The curriculum was based on a theoretical model that identified two critical dimensions of text-based support for beginning readers: linguistic content and cognitive load. The 15-week little book…

Trains 94 first graders using a structured phonological reading method emphasizing English phonology and phoneme/grapheme correspondence. Compares to a control group who received a whole-language-plus-phonics approach. Notes that children in all groups improved their phonological awareness by the same amount. Concludes that phonological awareness…

First and second graders (n=285) received one of three types of classroom reading programs: (1) direct instruction in letter-sound correspondence; (2) less direct instruction in sound-spelling patterns; and (3) implicit instructions in the alphabetic code while reading connected text. Results show advantages of reading programs that emphasize…

Low-performing districts have sought to raise student achievement through adoption of schoolwide models for the reform of literacy instruction, a trend that has intensified under the Reading First Act. This study examined literacy achievement for first graders in a large urban district that offered its schools a choice of literacy reform models.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a supplemental peer-mediated reading program on reading achievement of first graders (N = 76) in a two-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) program. Nearly 80% of students were Hispanic; of these, 24 were identified as English language learners (ELLs). Classrooms were randomly assigned to…