PECPS Implements Read 180 to Improve Struggling Readers’ Reading Level

According to a recent report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Alliance for Excellent Education, "approximately 8 million young people between fourth and twelfth grade struggle to read at grade level. Some 70 percent of older readers require some form of remediation" (2004). The 2003 statistics on reading achievement from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) also revealed: (a) 37% of fourth graders were reading at below basic levels; and (b) reading problems affected students in almost every social, cultural, and ethnic group. According to the results, 25% of Caucasians, 60% of African Americans, 56% of Hispanics, 30% of Asian Americans, and 53% of Native Americans were reading at below basic levels in the fourth grade.

Students who do not have strong literacy skills find themselves at a serious disadvantage in school, social settings, as civil participants, and in the working world. A recent call for workplace preparedness from high school graduates intensified the importance of remediating and nurturing students’ reading abilities. Reading interventions must help these students achieve sufficient gains in reading ability, so they can attain the literacy skills needed to succeed in school and in life.

READ 180 is an intensive reading intervention program that helps educators confront the problem of adolescent illiteracy and special needs reading on multiple fronts, using technology, print, and professional development. READ 180 is proven to meet the needs of struggling readers whose reading achievement is below proficient level. The program directly addresses individual needs through differentiated instruction, instructional software, high-interest literature, and direct instruction in reading, writing, and vocabulary skills.

The program will start its second year of implementation in August of 2008.  After an evaluation of the first year of implementation, the administration made several adjustments to improve the program.  PECPS set up one Read 180 classroom in the high and one in the middle school. One teacher in each school was designated to teach Read 180 classes exclusively. Students are identified as struggling readers (reading two years below grade) based on SOL results, scholastic reading inventory (SRI), benchmark assessments, and teacher input.