The effects of Reading Recovery on literacy achievement of black and white students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention program, Reading Recovery, on the literacy achievement of black and white students. Through a battery of assessment, interviews, and analysis procedures, the researcher addressed the following questions: (1) Do black and white students, who were students in the intervention program, Reading Recovery, have similar levels of literacy achievement and share similar literacy characteristics? (2) Do black and white students who successfully complete the intervention program, Reading Recovery, maintain average scores for at least two years post intervention? (3) Do teachers of black and white students accurately evaluate their literacy ability two years post intervention? Twenty-seven third grade students were selected to participate in the study, based upon their successfully completing the Reading Recovery Program. Procedures included the students reading Three Narrative Passages written at different difficulty levels. One passage was written at a first grade level, the second passage was written at a third grade level, and the third passage was written at a fifth grade level. In addition to the Three Narrative Passages The San Diego Oral Reading Paragraph for grade three was administered. An interview with the students' teachers included the teachers completing a questionnaire, The Teacher Evaluation of Students' Literacy Ability. The students were given The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey to measure their attitude about reading. Finally a written sample of the students' writing was obtained. Results showed no significant differences between the black and the white students on any of the assessments. There was no significance difference found in the teachers' evaluation of the black and white students' literacy ability. Both black and white students maintained average literacy scores two years post intervention.