There is abundant evidence that schools with strong reading programs have successful students. But building strong reading skills is a complex task, particularly by the time students reach the middle grades. A survey was conducted that involved all Indiana middle grades schools in May 2009. Two types of data analysis were utilized in preparing the…

The Improving Literacy through School Libraries (LSL) program was established under Title I, Part B, Subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The purpose of the program is to improve the literacy skills and academic achievement of students by providing them with increased…

This publication contains Arizona public schools' academic standards for grade 4. The contents of this document include the following: (1) The Arts Standard 2006--Grade 4; (2) Comprehensive Health Education/Physical Activity Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (3) Foreign and Native Language Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (4)…

From helping to achieve economic well-being to constructing a sense of self, literacy plays a central role in how people interact with each other and with the world around them (Phelps, 2005). The importance of being literate has only increased over the decades and stands to become even more important in the future. Fifty years ago, an abundance…

The two studies presented in this report were designed to test the effectiveness of a new diagnostic-based reading intervention for classroom teachers, called the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI). This TRI Tier 2 intervention stressed diagnostic teaching as the key to helping struggling readers make rapid progress in reading in the regular…

"Charter Schools in Eight States" uses longitudinal data from eight states to evaluate the effects of charter schools on achievement, attainment, integration, and competition. The findings are mixed. "Achievement": The study examines seven jurisdictions and finds insignificant effects on reading and math performance in five,…

This is the seventh edition of the Brown Center Report on American Education. As in the past, the report consists of three sections. The first section examines the latest test score data on math and reading achievement. This year the analysis focuses primarily on results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including a…

An innovative, technology-enabled elementary school literacy program was implemented in a large urban school district. The program revolved around having student-adult pen pals read the same books and correspond about them. Statistical comparisons showed that program classrooms outperformed students in comparison classrooms on the SAT-9…

As a special education teacher, locating effective techniques for improving and tracking her students' reading progress became an ongoing task. During the author's first year in that role, she realized immediately that finding an effective approach for improving reading was crucial for her students. A professor introduced her peers and her to…

In 2002, Florida adopted a test-based promotion policy in the third grade in an attempt to end social promotion. Similar policies are currently operating in Texas, New York City, and Chicago and affect at least 17 percent of public school students nationwide. Using individual-level data on the universe of public school students in Florida, we…

This paper explores the relationship between teacher testing and teacher effectiveness using a unique data set that links teachers to their individual students. The findings show a positive relationship between some teacher licensure tests and student achievement. They also suggest that states face significant tradeoffs when they require…

A national literacy professional development project reduced the achievement gap for students experiencing difficulties in reading or writing in 91 of New Zealand's schools. It was based on two premises: coherence within and between the multiple levels of the schooling and educational administration systems, and a focus on evidence-informed…

A study examined whether a correlation exists between the number of years of experience and professional development that a teacher has and the gain in the classroom's average of total reading scores. Teachers participating in the study were the instructors of the three fourth-grade units of a lower-to-middle class socioeconomic elementary school…

A study ascertained the degree of relationships between scores on each of various reading subskills and overall reading success. Reading subskills were measured by locally developed reading skills tests. Overall reading success was measured by the reading subtest of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). In each of three southern Indiana school…

A study investigated whether middle-school students who identify recreational reading as a hobby obtain significantly higher reading achievement scores than those middle-school students who have not identified recreational reading as a hobby. Subjects, 55 students in grades 4, 5, and 6 at the Earle Elementary Public School located in a…