IRA: Don't Give Up on Reading First

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Joan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 5/7/2008 2:05:00 PM

Despite a grim new assessment that the federal government’s Reading First program hasn’t had an impact on reading comprehension in low-income childen, an International Reading Association (IRA) official advises not giving up on the initiative.

"We ought not to say 'Gee, it's a dud' and walk away from it,'" says Richard Long, director of government relations for the IRA . "Rather, we've got to say, 'Yeah, there's really some problems here nationally' and 'How can we learn from the successful parts of the program?'"

Long says IRA hopes for more flexibility in the program and an emphasis on professional development.

Reading First—the $1 billion-a-year, No Child Left Behind-mandated reading program—got low marks on a report by Department of Education (DOE) contract researchers that was released in late April. After examining 18 educational programs, the researchers concluded that, on average, students in the program showed no statistically significant progress in their reading comprehension, according to their study, "Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report."

The report is the first of two federal assessments to examine the impact of Reading First in the school years 2004–05 and 2006–07. Their focus was on the program’s impact on both students' reading comprehension and teachers' use of scientifically-based reading instruction. Reading First aims to help students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, read at grade level by the end of third grade.

What reading advocates should now focus on, Long says, is more professional development and stronger links between K–12 programs—especially those for special-needs children—and teacher education programs.