Independent Reading (IR) is a reading intervention that many schools implement to help students develop essential reading skills and improve academic achievement on various standardized assessments. However, recent IR studies have yielded mixed findings on the effectiveness of IR as a reading intervention to help struggling students increase…

This study examined the influence of classroom pedagogic reading practices and out-of-school practices in explaining why the reading attainment of Hong Kong Grade 4 students was superior to that of their counterparts in Taiwan in the 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. Analyses of scores from 9,301 students (4,712 from Hong Kong…

The United States' Public Education system shared concerns regarding declining achievement results across the nation. Numerous research studies suggested significant correlations to various variables, such as, SES (Socio-Economic Status), LEP (Limited English Proficiency), IEP (Individualized Educational Programs), ethnicity, and student mobility.…

This study examined independent reading behaviors and contextual factors that contributed to growth in vocabulary and literacy of fourth grade English-only (EO), limited English proficient (LEP), and fluent English proficient (FEP) children. Participants were given pre-post measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary, word reading, decoding,…

This report presents the results from an evaluation of the fourth year of the Memphis Striving Readers Project (MSRP) conducted by Research for Better Schools (RBS). MSRP, funded for five years by the United States Department of Education, comprises two interventions aimed at improving adolescent literacy and the quality of literacy instruction…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the impact that a teacher-guided library selection program had on overall reading scores and how this program may or may not promote reading improvement of fourth-grade students at a small suburban school in western New York. Forty fourth graders were used as the sample population, which was…

POWER (Providing Opportunities with Everyday Reading), stressing reading in the content areas, is a program for high schoolers driven by continuous improvement and teamwork. Improved test scores and enhanced attitudes toward reading result from high teacher commitment and sustained interest achieved through this teacher-led program's design. (MLH)