# Presentation: 326310

## Archived Information

**The information in this presentation is archived for historical and reference purposes only**

## The Reading Excellence Program

**NABE 2000, San Antonio**
**Nancy Rhett, Acting Director, Reading Excellence Program**
**Vanessa Garza, Reading Excellence Program**
**Office of Elementary and Secondary Education**
**U.S. Department of Education**
**February 15, 2000**

## Overview

**Background of Reading Excellence Act**
**Current state grantees, FY 2000 schedule**
**Content and key strategy:  six dimensions of reading, use of scientific research base**
**State and district roles**
**English language learners**
**Contact information**
**	****Note:  This presentation will be available at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/**

## What led to the REA? Why did Congress pass this law?

**A substantial, cumulative body of research on reading --based on scientific methodology -- is now available. **
**Research findings cumulated during the 1980s and 1990s, with converging findings confirmed in key studies by the mid-1990s.**
**An authoritative synthesis of this research is found in *****Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children***** (National Academy of Sciences - Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin, 1998)**
**Too many children in high poverty schools fail to learn to read.**

## National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

- National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

## Reading Excellence Act:  Purposes

**1.****	****Teach every child to read by the end of third grade.**
**2.*****	*****Improve reading instruction through the use of findings from scientifically-based reading research.**
**3.****	****Provide early intervention to children experiencing reading difficulties and prevent inappropriate referral to special education.**
**4.****	****Provide children in early childhood with the readiness skills they need to learn to read once they enter school.**
**5.****	****Expand the number of high quality family literacy programs.**

## Key definition:  Six dimensions of reading

_**Phonemic awareness**_** - the skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print.**
**Ability to **_**decode**_** unfamiliar words.**
**Ability to read **_**fluently**_**.**
_**Background**_** information and **_**vocabulary**_** to foster reading comprehension.**
_**Comprehension**_** - the development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print.**
**Development and maintenance of a **_**motivation**_** to read.**

## How does REA work?

**Grants are competitively awarded to States that have established state-wide literacy partnerships.**
**The States then run two grant competitions:**
**Local Reading Improvement subgrants**
**Tutorial Assistance subgrants**

## Local Reading Improvement Subgrants:  Eligible districts & schools

**Two schools with the first & second highest numbers of poor children**

**Two schools with the first & second highest percentage of poor children**

**SCHOOLS IN A DISTRICT (all below are eligible, can overlap)**

**The two districts with the first & second highest percentages of poor children**

**All districts that have at least one school in Title I School Improvement status**

**The two districts with the first & second highest number of poor children**

** ****DISTRICTS (all below are eligible, can overlap)**

## Estimate about 14-16 grants in FY 2000.

***Estimate about 14-16 grants in FY 2000.***

## Funding for FY 2000

**Appropriation****	****	****	****$260.0 m**
**State Grants****	****	****	****$241.1 m**
**National evaluation****	****	****	**** -    3.9 m**
**Dissemination (National                    -    5.0 m **
**	****Institute for Literacy)**
**Even Start     ****	****	****	**** -  10.0 m****	**

## REA timeline for FY 2000

**Successful states receive notification of awards, early June 2000**

**States hold competition for subgrants to school districts, fall 2000**
**     ****-- Local Reading Improvement subgrants**
**     ****-- Tutorial Assistance subgrants**

**LEAs and schools begin two-year subgrants, winter 2001**

## Reading research

**How is the reading research applied in REA?**
**How can states, districts, and schools judge specific strategies, materials, or programs? (For reading or other programs)  What is a scientific research base?**

## Key definition:  Six dimensions of reading

_**Phonemic awareness**_** - the skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print.**
**Ability to **_**decode**_** unfamiliar words.**
**Ability to read **_**fluently**_**.**
_**Background**_** information and **_**vocabulary**_** to foster reading comprehension.**
_**Comprehension**_** - the development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print.**
**Development and maintenance of a **_**motivation**_** to read.**

## Elements Leading to 

- Reading Comprehension - DRAFT

- Phonemic awareness

- Decoding (phonics)

- Comprehension

- Background knowledge and vocabulary

- Comprehension strategies

- Motivation

- Fluency

## Application:  Pre-K to grade 3

**From *****Starting Out Right***** **
***Starting out Right:  A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success***  (National Academy of Sciences - Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin, **1999)**
- Which is based on:
***Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children*** (National Academy of Sciences - Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin, **1998)**

## Preschool

**Phonemic awareness **
**Basically oral -- working on the sounds within words.**
**Rhymes, beginning sounds**
**Being able to break up a word into its component units, or phonemes.**
**Oral language development (working on vocabulary and language structures)**
**Book and print awareness**
**Listening comprehension**
**Letter-naming, number naming**
**Writing (scribbling, pretend writing, starting on letters)**

**From *****Starting Out Right***

## Kindergarten

**Phonemic awareness -- breaking words into their sounds, deleting and adding phonemes, blending into a word. Understands that the sounds blend into a word in a left to right sequence.**
**Letter awareness - alphabet, upper and lower case, letter names.**
**Book and print awareness (words, direction, purposes).**
**Background knowledge, vocabulary (oral, pictures).**
**Language development - syntax.**
**Comprehension - questions, predictions**
**By end, alphabet, some letter-sound correspondences, simple decoding, some sight words.**
**Writing, using invented (phonetic) spelling and regularly spelled words -- “kid writing.”**

**From *****Starting Out Right***

## First grade

**Continuing phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and book and print awareness.**
**Starts “real” reading.**
**Decoding, word recognition, oral reading.**
**Can decode reliably one-syllable regular words.**
**Can use alphabetic principle to identify unknown words.**
**Building a sight vocabulary.**
**Language, comprehension, response to text.**
**Lots of oral and print reading, discussion, summarizing, locating main ideas, predicting, and relating to life and other reading. **
**Improving fluency and comprehension, using repeated readings.**
**Writing - correct spelling for one-syllable, short vowel words.  “Phonemic” spelling still o.k. for more advanced words. By end of year is using basic punctuation and sentence structure.**

**From *****Starting Out Right***

## Second and third grades

**Decoding, word recognition, and oral reading.**
**Building on automatic word recognition, spelling skills, and reading fluency. Decoding regular two-syllable words. Sounding out unknown multisyllable words. Working on prefixes and suffixes; later, on root words.**
**Vocabulary and background knowledge.**
**Language, comprehension, and response to text.**
**Improving comprehension by building knowledge of words, language structures, attitudes, and strategies for understanding and using text.**
**Reading and re-reading.**
**Questions, interpretations, conscious strategies, self-monitoring.**
**Learning how to learn from text.**
**Spelling and writing.  **
**Writing becomes much more accurate, following conventional spelling and structure. Can produce a variety of written work.**

**From *****Starting Out Right***

## Scientifically Based Reading Research

**“****SBRR” refers to the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties.**

## Criteria for judging research findings (from “Continuum of Effectiveness”)

**1.****	****Theory based in scientific research? **
**Does the strategy or program have theory behind its design that is based in the scientific literature?**
**2.****	****Evaluation basis for evidence of effectiveness?**
**Use of an independent evaluator? **
**Use of experimental design (random assignment and treatment/control groups)? **
**Use of assessments of reading? Multiple measures?**
**Student learning gains sustained over time? Three years or more?**

## 3.	Implementation documented?
Has the strategy or program been fully implemented for three or more years?
Is the implementation well described?  e.g. staff development, curriculum, instructional methods, materials, assessments, and costs?
Are costs well documented? 
Is the service population similar to yours? 
4.	Replicable? 
Replicated in a wide range of schools and districts?
Were the replications evaluated? With comparable results?

**Has the strategy or program been fully implemented for three or more years?**
**Is the implementation well described?  e.g. staff development, curriculum, instructional methods, materials, assessments, and costs?**
**Are costs well documented? **
**Is the service population similar to yours?**** **
**4.****	****Replicable? **
**Replicated in a wide range of schools and districts?**
**Were the replications evaluated? With comparable results?**

- Criteria for judging research findings (from “Continuum of Effectiveness”)

## How will REA be implemented?

**Schools**
**Districts**
**States**

## Local school activities

**Changed reading instruction in grades K-3**
**Accomplished by high quality professional development for teachers, principals, and staff in research-based reading instruction**
**Curriculum and supporting materials/technology **
**Extended learning opportunities (e.g., tutoring and summer programs)**
**Training for tutors**
**Family literacy services**
**School readiness, adult literacy, parent education/involvement**
**Kindergarten transition services/programs**

## Logic model for REA local program

**Effective reading instruction in grades K-3**
_**Changes in teacher practice**_
**Principal leadership**
**Early intervention for students having difficulty (tutoring, summer programs, kindergarten transition)**
**Frequent assessment - informal and formal**

- Logic model for REA local program

_**Professional development**_** and parent education**

**Children reading by third grade**

**Family support for reading**

**Resources: materials, books, staff, technology**

## District roles for Local Reading Improvement subgrants

**Perform a needs assessment and develop a plan to meet the needs.**
**Select specific schools for participation.**
**Ensure high-quality professional development.**
**Provide needed resources.**
**Coordinate programs and services, including entering into a partnership with a community-based organization if feasible. **
**Monitor performance and assess outcomes.**

## SEA roles:  Leadership and oversight

**1.****	****Establish a partnership of key players for reading reform.**
**2.****	****Set a coherent strategy for improving early reading.**
**-****	****Relate the strategy to current state and other federal efforts to improve reading (e.g. Title I, CSRD, Even Start).**
**3.****	****Provide guidance and technical assistance on research based reading instruction to **_**eligible**_** districts and schools.**
**4.****	****Hold a rigorous subgrant competition likely to result in high quality subgrants. **
**-****	****Ensure that sufficient resources are available in **_**each**_** school to change the reading curriculum.**

## 5.	Ensure that districts and schools implement effective and high quality professional development in reading. 
6.	Provide guidance and technical assistance on research-based reading instruction to participating districts and schools.
7.	Conduct program evaluation, including measuring student outcomes.

**6.****	****Provide guidance and technical assistance on research-based reading instruction to **_**participating**_** districts and schools.**
**7.****	****Conduct program evaluation, including measuring student outcomes.**

- SEA roles:  leadership and oversight

## State Reading and Literacy Partnership

**Governor of State**
**Chief State School Officer**
**State legislature representatives**
**Local educational agency representative**
**Community-based organization representative**
**State directors of Federal/State reading programs **
**Parent**
**Teacher**
**Family literacy service provider**

## Some issues for reading instruction for English language learners

**How should teachers address the six dimensions of reading - whether in the native language or in English - in grades K-3?**
**phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, background knowledge and vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation**
**How to balance reading instruction? Not too much phonics. Not only rich literature.**
**How to connect reading to the child’s cultural background and experience?**

## Some issues for reading instruction for English language learners

**How to use strategies that promote development of language and grade level content? In particular building “academic language.”**
**What are key strategies when dealing with transition from L1 to L2? **
**How to involve families? (Seeing the family as a resource, not a deficit.)**
**Are there enough and the right materials?**

## Reading ExcellenceContact Information

**   ****U.S. Department of Education: **
**	****Reading Excellence Program**
**phone:  (202) 260-8228**
**fax:  (202) 260-8969**
**e-mail:  reading_excellence@ed.gov**
**REA website:  http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/**