Program to Improve Reading Proficiency Among K-3 Students
Program to Improve Reading Proficiency Among K-3 Students
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), a children’s literacy organization, announced Wednesday the introduction of Read for Success, a program intervention designed to improve reading proficiency among K-3 students.
Tested over a two-year period as part of an Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant from the U.S. Department of Education, RIF’s evidence-based model is aimed to increase students’ reading proficiency and curb the “summer learning slide” – a contributing factor to the achievement gap.
Prior to the research, an average of 80 percent of students from low-income communities experienced reading loss over summer.
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Not only did the model stem reading loss from 80 percent of students to 39 percent, 57 percent of students actually saw gains in reading proficiency through access to classroom book collections, summer books for students to choose and own, enrichment activities and professional development for teachers.
According to RIF, with recent NAEP scores showing an average of 65 percent of students in fourth and eighth grade not proficient in reading, the new program intervention couldn’t have come at a better time to address the literacy crisis in America.
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“So many of our nation’s students are falling behind academically,” noted Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental. “It’s imperative that we do something to stop the cycle of illiteracy in our country. Read for Success is a proven program intervention with tested outcomes to help students become proficient readers, and represents one of RIF’s most significant programs with immediate impact for our nation’s students.”
Read for Success is based on the premise of motivating students to read by providing access to and ownership of summer books of their choosing, professional development for teachers, classroom book collections and effective standards-aligned STEAM-themed (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics) classroom enrichment activities that inspire learning.
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) – a children’s literacy nonprofit – provides books to children in need.
