## Archived Information Objective 2.2: Every child reads well and independently by the end of the third grade.

National Need

**National Concerns.** Reading is the foundation of all other skills
essential for learning, yet the 1998 National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) reports that only 62 percent of fourth-graders read at
the basic level or higher. Research shows that students who fail to read
well by fourth grade are at greater risk of educational failure.
Mastering basic skills such as reading are essential first steps to
reaching challenging academic standards in all subjects.

**Our Role.** The Department of Education's Federal resources are used
to help states, local school districts, and schools improve the teaching
and learning of reading for high-poverty children in early childhood
programs and for at-risk school children in kindergarten through high
school; support special populations that experience difficulties in
reading; coordinate and promote research-based reading instruction and
strategies; and expand community-wide extended learning time programs in
reading. This improvement is accomplished through many programs,
including Title I, Even Start, and the Reading Excellence Program, and
through other programs for special populations such as Special
Education.

### Our Performance

**How We Measure.** ED measures its progress by focusing on expected
outcomes in student achievement in reading, as well as indicators that
track the implementation of recent programs to advance these outcomes.

Indicator 2.2.a. Increasing percentages of fourth-grade students will
meet basic and proficient levels in reading on the National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP). By 2002, 66 percent of fourth-grade
students will score at or above the basic level in reading on the NAEP,
and 32 percent of fourth grade students will score at or above the
proficient level in reading on the NAEP.

**Assessment of Progress.** No overall change, but trend toward target
for high-poverty schools. Since the 1970's, NAEP scores for
fourth-graders have been relatively flat (around 60 percent at basic or
higher levels). These statistics are disturbing because they indicate
that around 40 percent of the fourth-grade population continues to have
difficulty reading at the basic level of proficiency (see Figure
2.2.a.1). While students in low-poverty schools improved their reading
scores from 1988 to 1996, scores of students in high-poverty schools
have begun improving only since 1992 (see Figure B.1 in the *End
Outcomes* section of this report).

Figure 2.2.a.1

![](media/image1.wmf){width="3.0in" height="2.298611111111111in"}

**Source:** NAEP (1992-present). *Frequency:* Every four years. *Next
Update:* 2002. **Validation procedure:** Data are validated by NCES
review procedures and *NCES Statistical Standards*. **Limitations of
data and planned improvements:** NAEP data are not available annually.
They are or will be available for 1994, 1998, and 2002.

Indicator 2.2.b. By 2001, increasing numbers of postsecondary students
will be employed as America Reads tutors through the Federal Work Study
Program.

**Assessment of Progress.** Progress toward target. On July 1, 1997, the
Department of Education encouraged Federal Work Study (FWS) students to
serve as reading tutors by waiving the requirement that employers pay
part of their wages. In October 1998, the president declared that,
starting in the 2000-01 award year, every postsecondary institution with
a Federal Work Study program must use at least 7 percent of the sum of
its initial and supplemental FWS allocations in an award year to
compensate students employed in community service activities. As part of
the community service requirement, postsecondary institutions must have
a literacy tutoring program. During the 1998-99 academic year, 26,716
postsecondary students were employed as reading tutors through the
Federal Work Study program (see Figure 2.2.b.1).

Figure 2.2.b.1

![](media/image2.wmf)

**Source:** ED Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate,
1998. *Frequency:* Annual. *Next Update:* 1999 data will become
available in 2000. **Validation procedure:** Data are reviewed by ED
staff. **Limitations of data and planned improvements:** No known
limitations.

Indicator 2.2.c. Increasing percentages of teachers of students in
kindergarten through third grade will receive ongoing, intensive
professional development to enable them to successfully teach reading to
diverse students, including those who experience difficulties in
learning to read and those with disabilities.

Assessment of Progress. Unable to judge progress, as data are available
for one year only.

![](media/image3.wmf){width="4.0in" height="2.9159722222222224in"}
Figure 2.2.c.1

**Source:** National Longitudinal Survey of Schools (NLSS) (1999).
*Frequency:* Annual. *Next Update:* 2000. **Validation procedure:** Data
are validated by NCES review procedures and *NCES Statistical
Standards*. **Limitations of data and planned improvements:** NLSS data
are currently available for second and third grade teachers only. Data
are collected from teachers in schools that include a third grade and
who teach each of these grades "most of the time." Data for kindergarten
and first grade teachers have been requested in future years.

Indicator 2.2.d. Increasing numbers of children participating in Head
Start, Even Start, and Title I programs will make significant gains on
measures of language development and reading readiness so they are well
prepared for grade-appropriate reading instruction.

**Assessment of Progress.** Data from the National Research Council show
that preparation for school---at home and in early childhood
programs---is essential to the performance of children in reading. This
new indicator will track progress in this area.

**Source:** To be developed. *Frequency:* To be developed*. Next
Update:* To be developed. **Validation procedure:** N/A. **Limitations
of data and planned improvements:** N/A. While some data are available
from the National Even Start Evaluation (1995-96) on the performance of
children in school readiness and language development, there is
currently no comparable assessment that can provide trend data for this
indicator. Furthermore, no current data are available on pre-K Title I
or Head Start student performance. The Department is discussing an early
childhood study that would provide these data in future years.

### How We Plan to Achieve Our Objective 

**How ED's Activities Support the Achievement of This Objective.**

-   **Support improved in-class instruction in reading using
    research-based reading strategies.** Multiple Department programs
    support research-based instruction in reading for high-poverty and
    at-risk student populations from early childhood through high
    school, including Title I, Even Start, Reading Excellence, Special
    Education, and Bilingual Education programs. These programs focus on
    improving teaching and learning by upgrading curriculum,
    accelerating instruction, and providing teachers with professional
    development to teach to high standards.

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-   **Support public understanding of best practices for early childhood
    language development and acquisition**. The Department disseminates
    quality early literacy materials to childcare professionals and is
    partnering with Even Start and Head Start literacy programs and
    Ready to Learn Television to increase community efforts to enhance
    language acquisition and development for all young children. In FY
    2000, Congress provided \$150 million to Even Start to support
    family literacy projects for children from birth through age 7.
    Additionally, the Department is providing joint funding with the
    National Academy of Sciences to produce a report on early childhood
    pedagogy, which is expected to be released in May 2000. During June
    2000, the Department will host a summit on early childhood
    development based on the findings of the study.

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-   **Support community-wide extended learning time** **programs
    dedicated to improving literacy**. The Department continues to
    expand and strengthen the America Reads Federal Work Study tutor
    program. Each postsecondary institution that receives Federal
    financial aid is now required to have an America Reads or America
    Counts Federal Work Study tutor program component. To date, more
    than 1,200 postsecondary institutions have joined the America Reads
    Challenge. In March 2000, the Department is cosponsoring a
    conference, "Tutoring Programs for Struggling Readers: The America
    Reads Challenge," with the Rutgers Graduate School of Education,
    with an expected attendance of 300 participants.

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-   **Support in-service and preservice teacher development.** The
    Department's Title I, Reading Excellence, Even Start, and Bilingual
    programs provide teachers with high-quality professional development
    to teach to high standards. To meet the needs of an increasing
    limited English proficient (LEP) student population, America Reads
    is developing instructional materials on basic knowledge needed by
    teachers and administrators who work with LEP children.

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-   **Promote and coordinate research and evaluation pertaining to
    children's literacy.** The Reading Excellence Program is conducting
    multiple studies targeted to identify the path of reading skill
    acquisition and effective practices in teaching reading. Planning
    and Evaluation Services is conducting an evaluation of the role of
    family involvement in supporting in-school reading interventions
    with targeted at-home reading, through the Compact for Reading
    initiative. The Department, with the National Academy of Sciences,
    is funding a study on effective practices in the teaching of reading
    to children in early childhood, followed by a summit on early
    childhood pedagogy. The Office of Bilingual Education and Minority
    Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) is conducting a two-year study to
    identify phonemic and comprehension skills that transfer from
    Spanish to English to help Spanish-speaking LEP students who learned
    to read in Spanish. OBEMLA is also participating in a National
    Institute Reading Study, "The Development of English Literacy in
    Spanish-Speaking Children." The Office of Vocational and Adult
    Education (OVAE) will continue to provide support for research
    efforts that investigate the effectiveness of adult education as an
    approach to reducing welfare dependency and improving children's
    educational progress.

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-   **Support community building and collaboration to improve literacy
    for our Nation's children**. In partnership with the *Los Angeles
    Times* and Little Planet Learning, the Planning and Evaluation
    Service produced and is disseminating the *Compact for Reading
    Guide*, a publication that explains how high-poverty schools can
    develop an effective written agreement among families of at-risk
    children, teachers, principals, and students in the community to
    help improve the reading skills of all students, as well as how to
    implement compacts through family involvement in reading. Working
    with a team of teachers, the Department developed the School-Home
    Links Kit, which includes 100 1-page reading activities for each
    grade from kindergarten through third. Teachers use the School-Home
    Links to reinforce in-school reading activities through family
    involvement.

> The Department has also partnered with McDonald's to implement and
> distribute *Raising Great Readers*, a booklet that includes tips for
> parents on how to make reading a daily, fun activity with their
> children. Through a collaboration with the American Library
> Association, Reading is Fundamental, Inc., Pizza Hut, and Scholastic
> Inc., the Department developed and will continue distributing
> Read\*Write\*Now! activity posters, which include reproducible reading
> and writing activities to help tutors, educators, and community
> members help all children improve their reading skills. Two and a half
> million posters were printed in English, and 250,000 were printed in
> Spanish. The Department has also developed and will continue to
> distribute the Read\*Write\*Now! tip sheet, which offers ideas and
> suggestions for librarians, teachers, camp counselors, and community
> leaders on how to design and implement a summer or after-school
> reading program.
>
> The America Reads office will continue to expand and strengthen
> relationships with public and private sector organizations committed
> to improving literacy for all children. Within the Department, the
> Even Start Agency Cooperation and Collaboration Project, Building
> State Alliance for Family Literacy, provides support for technical
> assistance to states developing strategies for improving collaboration
> in local Even Start projects. Finally, the America Reads Web site
> provides a listing of the coalition partners as well as information
> for our customers on best services to improve reading for our Nation.

### How We Coordinate with Other Federal Agencies

-   **Monthly interagency meetings.** Department representatives meet
    monthly with staff from the Corporation for National Service (CNS)
    as well as representatives from the National Institute for Literacy
    (NIFL) and the Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program to strengthen
    collaborative efforts in improving children's reading skills.

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-   **Joint task forces.** The Department of Education and the
    Department of Health and Human Services have formed a joint task
    force to increase collaboration and coordination of services to
    children in early childhood; a report will be issued to Congress in
    March 2000. As part of this initiative, the two agencies will
    facilitate the community collaboration of HHS- and ED-funded
    activities for reading and early childhood development. They will
    jointly disseminate reading publications on early childhood.

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-   **Coordination of research.** The Department is collaborating with
    the National Academy of Sciences on their study examining early
    childhood pedagogy, with findings disseminated in the spring of
    2000.

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-   **Interagency training.** The Department will collaborate with the
    U.S. Army and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to improve extended
    learning programs in reading. The Department will continue to help
    train Army staff directors to use America Reads Challenge
    Read\*Write\*Now! interventions and materials in the Army's extended
    learning programs. The Department of Education will work with the
    Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs schools to
    encourage extended learning in reading programs that support the
    America Reads Challenge.

Challenges to Achieving Our Objective

Increasing the reading skills of American children depends not only on
improving classroom instruction, but also on encouraging parents to take
a more active role in their children's reading from early childhood
onward. Postsecondary schools must have access to the most recent
research for professional development courses in the teaching and
learning of reading. Getting this information out to postsecondary
institutions that prepare teachers for the classroom and to teachers
already in classrooms remains a challenge. The Reading Excellence Act
provides important new support to strengthen reading at home and in
school. Furthermore, the Department's research and dissemination
efforts, as well as special program activities in reading, will further
support and strengthen teacher preparation as well as school and home
activities in reading.