What really matters for struggling readers

Figuring out how to effectively teach each struggling reader to read

- Dr. Richard Allington -

A struggling reader poses an instructional problem

• Solving those individual instructional problems is the only solution

• Expertise is essential for solving problems

Effective instruction is the only solutionEffective instruction is the only solution

• Children differ

• Struggling readers differ

• Intervention designs must be based on knowledge of these differences

• Figuring out how to best teach each struggling reader is the essential task

Two themes

• Quality of reading instruction– Core program– Intervention

• Quantity of high-quality reading instruction– Across school day/year– Beyond school day/year

Quality

• Reader/text match

• Access and choice

• Volume of deliberate practice

• Literate conversation v. interrogation

• Useful, explicit strategy instruction

• Coherence/coordination

High-Success Reading

• Accurate, fluent, high-comprehension

– 98-100% accuracy

– Reads in phrases with expression

– 90% comprehension

Does every 4th grader (or 7th or 9th grader):

– Receive 300+ minutes of High-Success core instruction every day?

– Does the intervention add more High-Success reading instructional minutes?

Or, do many 4th graders (or 7th or 9th):

– Have desks full of books they cannot read?

– Get whatever standard lesson is offered?

– Go to intervention that does not extend instructional time and is not coordinated with core instruction?

Quantity

• Core = 90 minutes– High-quality

• Intervention = Added 30-90 minutes– High-quality

Intervention schedule

• Before, after school– Extend the school day

• Add 70-150 hours of reading lessons

• Summers– Extend the school year

• Add 30 days, 45-60 hours of reading lessons

Why struggling readers struggle

In too many schools struggling readers have:

– Desks full of books they cannot read– Assignments they cannot do– Lessons designed for on-level readers– Limited quantity of high-success reading

• Do interventions increase minutes/ hours of HQ reading lessons?

• Do they foster success in the core lessons?

In summary

• Accelerated growth requires adding quantity

• But begin by ensuring quality of core and intervention lessons

There are no miracle cures

The quality and quantity of reading lessons are the key factors in designing efforts to assist struggling readers.