Effects of early elementary Reading Recovery programs on middle-school students: A longitudinal evaluation

Do early intervention literacy programs promote long-lasting gains for students in middle school and beyond? By middle school, student performance and achievement in all content areas hinges on demonstrated reading and writing skills. In light of this, early intervention to promote the development of literacy skills is critical. As an early intervention literacy program, Reading Recovery (RR) has provided intensive reading instruction to low-achieving first-grade students. Reading Recovery has been in operation in the United States for over ten years. During that time, nearly one-half million children have received instruction and 15,000 teachers have participated in training. Lyons (1998) found greater incidence of academic success for students who participate in Reading Recovery programs as a method of intervention for literacy in the early grades. A vast body of literature suggests that Reading Recovery has a positive impact on children's literacy development (Clay, 1985). The purpose of this research study was to examine the long-term effects of this early intervention.;The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, the purpose was to examine the long-term effects of an early reading intervention on students currently in middle school. Reading Recovery participants were compared to a randomized sample of students fitting specific criteria. The second purpose was to analyze the demographic relationship among RR participants and the control group. A great deal of research has been done on Reading Recovery programs, but there is limited data to prove that participants were able to sustain gains made over the course of their educational experiences. This research showed no statistical significance using selected parametric statistics, but did present important observations for the practitioner. Statistically, students were able sustain gains made, when compared to the control group. However, observations show that in all cases, students that were identified for Reading Recovery and were subsequently discontinued from the program were consistently behind their counterparts with relation to test scores.;There was an expectation on the part of this researcher that the scores of Reading Recovery students in middle school would not be at an average level. To some degree, that was accurate, as in all cases students performed below their counterparts. In ELA Performance, there were over two times as many students in the control group achieving at a level 4, which is the highest level of proficiency. The sample of students may not have been large enough to show a level of statistical significance, but it does show a need for further intervention and improvement in order to assert that Reading Recovery is a program with long-lasting effects on the learner.;Middle-school students are at a very complex stage in their development physically, mentally, and emotionally. As they go through the fundamental changes associated with adolescence, they may be in need of more intervention that will allow them to continue to be successful, as they have been since early elementary. There is an expectation among middle school teachers that students have the basic reading and 79 writing skills needed to be successful in the content areas. It is not always the case that students are entirely self-sufficient with relation to literacy skills.;Had they never had the intervention in first grade it is likely that they would have fallen far behind their peers. Skills learned in first grade may have led to a level of achievement for seventh graders that allows them to experience content at the secondary level without the struggle of literacy issues.;There is a financial crisis in public schools. In light of this, every dollar spent should and must be designated to programs that improve student achievement and support direct needs of learners. Reading Recovery is an expensive program, and continued research should be conducted to support the continuation of the program. It is possible that without this intervention, students may have fallen far behind in terms of grade level performance. If that is the case, Reading Recovery has successful results with discontinued students. This research shows that the intervention led to average performance on standardized test scores, it also leads to many questions to be explored in the future.