OUTCOME EVALUATION OF THE MINNESOTA READING CORPS PREK PROGRAM

OUTCOME EVALUATION OF THE

Minnesota Reading Corps

PreK Program

Two of the most important educational benchmarks are readiness for kindergarten and reading at

grade-level by third grade. Focusing on emergent literacy skills during the PreK years boosts reading abilities 

and helps young learners reach these critical goals.

Research validates what works in teaching children to read: Well-trained tutors and teachers delivering early, 

targeted interventions to students in need.

Minnesota Reading Corps does just that, translating literacy research into effective practice to help struggling 

students become successful readers. AmeriCorps members serving in the program provide evidence-based interventions and data-based 

assessments to children from age three to grade three.

This report summarizes a recently completed outcome evaluation of the Minnesota Reading Corps PreK program. The positive and 

significant findings demonstrate that the model effectively improves preschool students’ emergent literacy skills and is highly replicable in 

multiple settings and across different student characteristics. Furthermore, the study highlights AmeriCorps members’ crucial contributions 

as tutors and education partners within the Minnesota Reading Corps model.

NATIONALSERVICE.GOV/RESEARCH MARCH 2015
OUTCOME EVALUATION OF THE MINNESOTA READING CORPS PREK PROGRAM

KEY FINDINGS

This independent evaluation showed that AmeriCorps members using the Minnesota Reading Corps model can significantly boost 

the emergent literacy skills of PreK students (ages three, four, and five).

AmeriCorps tutors with Minnesota Reading Corps helped four- and five-year-old students meet or exceed 

spring targets for kindergarten readiness in all five assessed areas. (Students in comparison classrooms 

did so for only one.)

By school year’s end, four- and five-year-old students in Minnesota Reading Corps classrooms 

outperformed students in comparison classrooms in recognizing letter sounds, rhyming words, letter 

names, picture names, and alliterations.

As one example, students in Minnesota Reading Corps classrooms had fall-to-spring growth in rhyming fluency that was, on 

average, 93 percent greater than the growth seen in comparison classrooms (see chart below).

The program was effective across a range of settings – both in public schools and Head Start Centers – 

and for all students regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, or dual language learner status.

By the end of the school year, three-year-old students in Minnesota Reading Corps classrooms 

significantly outperformed students in comparison classrooms (those without AmeriCorps tutors) in 

rhyming words and picture names.

NUMBER OF WORDS

FALL WINTER SPRING

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

KINDERGARTEN 

READINESS

BENCHMARK

* Chart depicts results from 

one of five assessments.

Results of Rhyming Word Assessments *

(four- and five-year-olds)

Students with 

AmeriCorps tutors

Students without 

AmeriCorps tutors

Note: AmeriCorps members used the 

Minnesota Reading Corps model for 

the duration of the evaluation period
METHODOLOGY

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) sponsored a quasi-experimental design (QED) outcome evaluation 

to determine the effects of the Minnesota Reading Corps program on PreK students’ emergent literacy skills. The evaluation 

involved 1,534 three-, four-, and five-year-old PreK students who attended either a Minnesota Reading Corps PreK program site 

or a comparison site during the 2013-2014 school year. Students were enrolled at 25 Minnesota Reading Corps PreK sites and 25 

comparison PreK sites matched to each program site on specific site-level characteristics. The evaluation tracked 

the same outcomes at both program and control sites throughout the school year (fall, winter, and spring).

The Minnesota Reading Corps program sites had all been operating the program for a year or more, without 

interruption. They were located in a mix of urban, suburban, and rural locations throughout Minnesota. They 

constituted a mix of public school settings, Head Start Centers, and community-based preschools.

The comparison sites had never participated in the Minnesota Reading Corps PreK program. Their staffs had 

not been trained in the particular approach to adult-child interactions that is integral to the Reading Corps model. 

Matches to individual program sites were based on key variables which research has shown to be related to 

student outcomes. These matching variables included urbanicity, institution type, age composition of classrooms, 

socio-economic composition of families served, percentage of students with dual language learner status, number 

of students enrolled in PreK at the site, instructional hours per week, and student to teacher/adult ratio.

RESEARCH COMPONENTS

Funded by CNCS, researchers from NORC at the 

University of Chicago conducted the following studies:

Feasibility study

Process assessments

Survey of AmeriCorps members

QED outcome evaluation of the PreK program (as 

summarized in this brief)

RCT impact evaluation of K-3 program

THE “BIG FIVE”

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Research has highlighted a range of teaching and 

learning strategies that are effective as young children 

develop. At the PreK level, the National Early Literacy 

Panel (2008) has identified the following “Big Five” Early 

Literacy Predictors:

1) conversation skills

2) vocabulary and background knowledge

3) book and print rules

4) phonological awareness (rhyming and alliteration)

5) alphabetic knowledge (letter name recognition and

letter sound correspondence)

The Minnesota Reading Corps PreK program integrates 

the “Big Five” into all aspects of daily classroom 

routines. AmeriCorps members trained in the model 

provide essential people-power and create literacy-rich 

classrooms using evidence-based practices.

THE READING CORPS MODEL

Minnesota Reading Corps, a strategic initiative of 

ServeMinnesota, is the nation’s largest state AmeriCorps 

program. The program demonstrates how service and science 

can accelerate improvement in both students and systems. 

AmeriCorps members serving in Minnesota Reading Corps 

provide proven literacy interventions to children from age three 

to grade three.

The Reading Corps PreK program is designed to attend to the 

particular developmental needs and learning environments 

of three-, four-, and five-year-olds in preschool settings. The 

model combines the human capital of AmeriCorps members 

with evidence-based program elements, including:

a Response to Intervention (RtI) approach to 

differentiated instruction,

ongoing formative assessments of students’ skills and 

learning needs (explicitly linked to the Big Five), 

a daily schedule rich in literacy, 

a particular approach (known as the SEEDS approach) 

to high quality adult-child interactions, and 

intensive individual or small-group literacy tutoring for 

students who need specialized assistance.

AmeriCorps members serving in Minnesota Reading Corps 

receive rigorous training and ongoing support throughout their 

term of service to prepare them for their roles in the classroom.
NATIONALSERVICE.GOV/RESEARCH MARCH 2015

OUTCOME EVALUATION OF THE MINNESOTA READING CORPS PREK PROGRAM

COMPLEMENTARY STUDIES

Each year since 2006, ServeMinnesota has conducted evaluations that give evidence of thousands of at-risk students reaching 

critical literacy milestones. ServeMinnesota invested in five years of quasi-experimental research with preschool participants which 

demonstrated that Reading Corps participants outperformed their peers on validated assessments that predict school readiness. 

Further research conducted by the Center for Learning Solutions (2012) shows that Reading Corps participants are two to three 

times less likely to be assigned to special education than non-participants, creating a permanent benefit to children and a significant 

ongoing savings to schools that can be redirected back into the classroom for the benefit of all children.

This research report complements an earlier randomized controlled trial impact evaluation of the Minnesota Reading Corps program 

for kindergarten through third grade (March 2014). The combined results tell a powerful story of what a carefully designed and 

developed program that relies on evidence-based literacy interventions delivered by AmeriCorps members can accomplish. Results 

from this study underscore the value of national service in pursuit of the nation’s goals.

PROGRAM GROWTH

Since 2003, Minnesota Reading Corps has helped more than 100,000 struggling readers progress toward proficiency by the end 

of third grade. The program has grown from serving just 250 students to reaching more than 36,000 annually – all while improving 

its effectiveness.

With support from CNCS and matching funds from the private sector and other sources, the Reading Corps program has 

expanded to seven states and the District of Columbia. Altogether, an estimated 1,500 AmeriCorps members are serving students 

nationwide using the Reading Corps model.

AMERICORPS AND EDUCATION

CNCS invests more than half of all AmeriCorps grant dollars in 

education, bringing tens of thousands of caring adults to schools 

across the country. AmeriCorps members provide teaching, 

tutoring, mentoring, afterschool support, and other services to 

students in more than 10,000 public schools, including one in three 

persistently low-achieving schools. A recent report from America’s 

Promise Alliance, The Role of National Service in Closing the 

Graduation Gap, gives further description of key investments and 

successes of AmeriCorps in education.

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. Upon request, this material will be 

made available in alternative formats for people with disabilities.

Full report and methodology: nationalservice.gov/research

The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster 

civic engagement through service and volunteering.