Model Literacy Programs: Save the Children: Evaluation Findings From the 2005-06 School Year

Multiple schools, Multiple cities, Arizona (AZ), Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Georgia (GA), Kentucky (KY), Mississippi (MS), Nevada (NV), New Mexico (NM), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee (TN)

Abstract:

DETAILS: Location: KY, AZ, CA, MS, SC, AR, CO, GA, NV, NM, and TN; Design: Independent, correlational; Sample: 47 local model literacy initiative programs; Measure: Star Reading; Duration: 1 school year.

RESULTS: During the 2005-2006 school year, Save the Children supported several local programs in its model literacy initiative. Twenty of the sites operated for the first time that year, while 15 began operation in the spring of the 2004-2005 school year, and the remaining 12 began during the 2003-2004 school year. Services at the sites included delivery of integrated in-school, after-school, and summer-school literacy activities including using Accelerated Reader. This report describes implementation of the literacy model at each site, the characteristics of participating children, and the learning results achieved during 2005-06. During the 2005-06 school year, the proportion of participants reading at a level appropriate for their grade level or above increased. On the initial Star Reading test, 21.8% of students were at grade level or higher--a normal curve equivalent (NCE) score of 50 or more. The final Star Reading test showed that 27.3% were reading at grade level. The average pre-post change in Star Reading scores was 3.9 NCEs, which was statistically significant.

Report available online.

Publication Date:
02/01/2007