READ 180 implementation: Reading achievement and motivation to read within an alternative education middle school program

This mixed methodological study examined the impact the READ 180 reading program has on increasing the percentage of minority and economically disadvantaged eighth grade students achieving proficiency in reading on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). The descriptive case study also investigated the program's effect on students' motivation to read. Participants in the study included seven eighth grade teachers who worked exclusively with eighth grade students in an alternative education school located in an urban school district in Pennsylvania. Quantitative and qualitative data collection provided information about READ 180's effect on increasing reading proficiency on the PSSA, and teachers' perceptions about the effectiveness of the program on improving reading proficiency and students' motivation to read Quantitative reading data from 22 eighth grade students were obtained throughout the 2006-2007 school year from 4Sight Benchmark Reading Test 1, Test 3 and Test 5. Additional quantitative data were collected through administration of the PSSA Reading test. Qualitative data were gathered from seven teachers who completed the Teachers' READ 180 Perceptions Survey, a 20-item Likert scale instrument, and five teachers who participated in subsequent interviews and classroom observations.;Findings of the study showed that READ 180 improved the reading proficiency of students on the PSSA. Baseline data from 4Sight Test I indicated that three students read at grade level with proficiency. Posttest data from the PSSA showed that 50 percent of the eighth grade students read with proficiency. Research findings from the survey responses revealed teachers' perceptions that the READ 180 program improved students' reading proficiency in specific ways. A high level of agreement occurred among participants' perceptions that READ 180 improved students' decoding skills, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Higher levels of agreement were seen in participants' perceptions that READ 180 increased students' motivation to read.