Issue Papers

The red links below lead to web pages and issue papers on the identified topics.

Essential Components
In 2000, the National Reading Panel published a list of five essential components of reading instruction which were incorporated into the No Child Left Behind legislation. Reading Recovery incorporates these five elements into daily lessons and adds four elements supported by the research literature. Read more about how Reading Recovery aligns with the five elements of the National Reading Panel report.

1. Phonemic Awareness
2. Phonics
3. Vocabulary
4. Fluency
5. Comprehension
   

Scientifically Based Reading Research (SBRR)
Reading Recovery meets the definition of scientific research published by the Institute of Education Sciences of the United States Department of Education (USDE).

IDEA
Reading Recovery can play an important role in a school’s implementation of the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA; IDEA). The revised IDEA legislation allows the use of response to intervention (RTI) as an alternate method for identifying children with learning disabilities. IDEA 2004 also permits local agencies to use funds for early intervening services (EIS).

One-to-One Instruction
In these times of tight funding and increased demand for academic results, educators increasingly turn to research to discover best practices for student achievement. A continuing question in the field of beginning reading is whether small-group instruction can be as effective as one-to-one in preventing reading failure. This paper reviews research on this question and focuses specifically on Reading Recovery, a beginning reading intervention that relies exclusively on individualized one-to-one instruction for success. Scientific evidence indicates that individualized instruction is more effective than small-group instruction.

Learning Disabilities
A 1995 International Reading Association publication identified Reading Recovery as an intervention that not only teaches children how to read but also reduces the number of students who are labeled learning disabled (LD) and the number of students who are placed in remedial reading programs.

Reading Recovery can play an important role in a school’s implementation of the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, IDEA). It is a compelling option for schools that are designing response to intervention (RTI) models to meet the needs of struggling readers and writers.

For information about how Reading Recovery fits into an RTI model, see “Reading Recovery and IDEA Legislation: Early Intervening Services (EIS) and Response to Intervention (RTI).”

English Language Learners
Reading Recovery serves approximately 16,000 English language learners (ELLs) in the United States each year, about 15% of all Reading Recovery students. An investment in both Descubriendo la Lectura (the Spanish reconstruction of Reading Recovery) and Reading Recovery ensures commitment to all children, including those who enter school speaking a language other than English.

Closing the Gap
With the growing diversity in America’s population, the achievement gap among various groups of children is gaining national attention. Reading Recovery reduces and in some cases closes the achievement gap between low and average achievers, English language learners (ELLs) and native English speakers, lower- and higher-family income, and various racial and ethnic groups.