Headsprout Early Reading is a computer-based program designed on behavioral principles to enhance the basic skills that underpin the initial development of reading. In a within and between groups design, and using primary schools within Northern Ireland that had a currently high proportion of disadvantaged pupils, children who were behind their…

School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the overriding need to create engaging online learning environments to facilitate students' learning. This paper focuses on the online evaluation of Own-Voice Intensive Phonics (OVIP) approach, a computer-assisted instruction programme used during the COVID restrictions to help 15 pupils aged…

Ensuring that students are reading on grade level by third grade is a critical factor that is correlated with future success both in the classroom and in future career and earnings potential for each child (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012 ; Sum et al., 2009). National data focused on the number of students reading below grade level depicts an…

There are large gaps in reading skills by family income among school-aged children in the United States. Correlational evidence suggests that reading skills are strongly related to the amount of reading students do outside of school. Experimental evidence testing whether this relationship is causal is lacking. We report the results from a…

The Early Intervention Reading Software Program encourages literacy growth and achievement in students in grades K-3. The program addresses early reading through the use of computer-based literacy software which provides individualized instruction designed to supplement students' classroom learning. During the 2018-2019 school year, these software…

The National Literacy Trust firmly believes in a place-based approach to tackling literacy issues in communities across the UK where low levels of literacy and social mobility are seriously impacting people's lives. In 2013, it launched its Hub model, delivering place-based interventions in areas of the UK with the highest levels of deprivation…

The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the impact of the Houston Independent School District's (HISD) Read Houston Read (RHR) on the reading levels of first-grade students. Students were assessed using Benchmark Reading Record (BRR) that was aligned to leveled books and Fountas and Pinnell Reading Levels. Descriptive statistics were used to…

Background: Afterschool programs (ASPs) in the United States have been implemented in low income neighborhoods to enable at-risk youth to access educational support services to increase academic skills. However, mixed findings about the ASPs positively affecting academic performance suggests a need for additional evaluative studies. Objective: The…

The present evaluation study sought to determine how LightSail is implemented within schools in three public school districts, Evergreen Public Schools (EPS), Denver Public Schools (DPS), and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Case studies conducted in a subsample of schools within the three districts included classroom observations,…

This article focuses on teachers' perceptions of the implementation and impact in Portuguese schools of a wide-ranging and long-term reading promotion programme. The Portuguese National Reading Plan (PNRP) was a public policy initiative whose purpose was to increase literacy levels and reading habits among the population. The Plan identified…

"Academy of READING"® is an online program that aims to improve students' reading skills using a structured and sequential approach to learning in five core areas--phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identified 38 studies of "Academy of READING"® for adolescent…

The Young Readers Programme (YRP) motivates children to read for enjoyment by running a series of three literacy-focused events, teaching children strategies to choose books that are right for them, and showing them that reading can be enjoyable. One of the most effective ways of developing children's literacy skills is to engage them in reading…

This policy brief summarizes the positive results of a rigorous evaluation of Reading Partners, a widely used program that offers one-on-one tutoring provided by community volunteers to struggling readers in low-income elementary schools. A total of 1,265 students in 19 schools in three states were randomly assigned to receive Reading…

The current study detailed the manner in which one school district monitored the effectiveness of the Wilson Reading System for students with disabilities who were experiencing difficulty with reading. Effectiveness was measured by growth in the reading skills that have been documented to be critical for successful readers. Twenty fourth- and…

"Time to Read" is a volunteer mentoring program that recruits volunteers from the local business community to spend one hour of company time each week working on a one-to-one basis with primary school children aged 8 to 9 years with the aim of improving reading skills. The authors first evaluated the program in 2006-8 using a randomized…