Measuring Outcomes
Outcomes of Lessons
A series of Reading Recovery lessons has two positive outcomes depicted by three status categories: One status category for students achieving accelerated progress and two alternative categories for those who do not demonstrate the intervention goals of accelerated progress and an effective literacy processing system.
First Positive Outcome
- Accelerated Progress: Achieved Intervention Goal. The child meets grade-level expectations and can make ongoing progress in literacy without needing extra help beyond the classroom program. (This is the outcome for approximately 75% of the children with a complete Reading Recovery intervention.)
Second Positive Outcome
- Progressed: Monitoring and Support are Essential for Ongoing Literacy Progress. The child demonstrates substantial progress but does not reach grade-level expectations after 20 weeks of instruction. Continued instructional support is needed to ensure ongoing progress and strengthening of the literacy processing system under construction.
- Recommended: Additional Evaluation and Ongoing Intervention are Essential for Ongoing Progress. The child has not made accelerated progress after 20 weeks of instruction. Additional evaluation and planning by the school team are recommended, and further action is initiated to help the child develop a literacy processing system and make progress.
What are the criteria for meeting grade-level expectations?
Multiple criteria are considered before determining if a child is ready for the individual lessons to stop. Consideration is given to a child’s ability to
- read increasingly more difficult texts at an instructional level, learning from his own efforts to solve problems as he reads;
- compose increasingly complex messages using resources to get to new words, monitoring and editing work, and knowing when and how to get help; and
- continue to learn in the classroom.
How is Reading Recovery’s evaluation conducted?
The International Data Evaluation Center (IDEC) at The Ohio State University collects data on every child from every Reading Recovery site in the United States on an annual basis. Each child is assessed before entering Reading Recovery, again upon leaving Reading Recovery, and at the end of the school year. Each child leaves Reading Recovery with a documented intervention status (outcome); one of the following:
- Discontinued (meaning a child has reached grade-level performance and no longer needs the supplemental support)
- Recommended action after a complete intervention of 20 weeks (meaning a child is recommended for assessment/consideration of future instructional support as needed)
- Incomplete intervention at end of school year (meaning a child is in Reading Recovery at the end of the year with insufficient time – fewer than 20 weeks – to exit the intervention)
- Moved while being served
- None of the above (meaning a child is removed from the intervention under extremely unusual circumstances such as placement in kindergarten by school officials)
This evaluation system provides direct accountability for each child’s progress and provides a record of strengths and continuing needs for each child. IDEC evaluation also includes process data to guide intervention decisions. (See www.idecweb.us for information about Reading Recovery evaluation and copies of national reports.)
In addition to IDEC evaluation, Reading Recovery university training centers throughout the U.S. analyze and publish outcomes. Evaluation frequently includes qualitative data about stakeholders’ perspectives on Reading Recovery: parents, classroom teachers, administrators, and Reading Recovery professionals.
What are the outcomes of Reading Recovery as an early intervention?
Data on more than 2.3 million children served by Reading Recovery in the United States have been collected, analyzed, and reported by the IDEC.
- Since 1984, when Reading Recovery began in North America, approximately 75% of the students who completed the full intervention met grade-level expectations in reading and writing.
- The students with complete interventions who do not reach grade-level literacy expectations have made progress and are evaluated to determine the need for future support (e.g., classroom support, Title I, LD referral).
- Children who do not have enough lessons to complete the intervention because the school year ends make important gains on all six measures of the Observation Survey.
- Follow-up studies indicate that most Reading Recovery students do well on standardized and state assessments in subsequent years.
Clay, M. M. (2002, 2005, 2016). An observation survey of early literacy achievement. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Clay, M. M. (2003). Le sondage d’observation en lecture-ecriture. Toronto: Les Editions de la Cheneliere.
Escamilla, K., Andrade, A. M., Basurto, A. G. M., & Ruiz, O. A. (1996). Instrumento de observación de los logros de la lecto-escritura inicial. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
What instrument does Reading Recovery use to measure a student’s progress?
Since Reading Recovery began in the United States in 1984, student outcomes have been documented for every child served. The achievement of specific goals for each child is measured using An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (Clay, 2002, 2005, 2016).
Instrumento de Observación de los Logros de la Lecto-Escritura Initial (Escamilla et al., 1996) is used for assessment of Descubriendo la Lectura children. Le sondage d’observation en lecture-ecriture (Clay, 2003) is used for French Canadians learning to read and write in French.
Observation Survey again receives highest ratings as academic screening tool
In a recent update, the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) reviewed the six tasks of the Observation Survey as a composite and found it showed classification accuracy in identifying at-risk students in the fall or winter of first grade based on a nationally representative sample. The assessment also demonstrated strong reliability and validity. This updated review again validates the use of the Observation Survey as a valid and reliable screening tool to be used to identify and intervene with the lowest literacy achievers in Grade 1.
Read more about Research & Evaluation
THE JOURNAL OF READING RECOVERY
Fall 2024
The Science of Language and Anti-Blackness: Accounting for Black Language in Reading Instruction, Interventions, and Assessment by Alice Y. Lee
Getting History Right: The Tale of Three-Cueing by Jeffery L. Williams
Unpacking the Science of Reading: A Collaborative Exploration of Research and Theories by Nancy Anderson, Katherine Mitchell, and Sheila Richburg
Transformations in Writing: Analyzing Structure and Vocabulary in Two Reading Recovery Students by Donita Shaw, Faith Winslow, Amy Dunn, Heather Cherry, Cheyenne Short, and Kris Piotrowski