Read for Success
2015
We asked you last summer to stay tuned for big news from RIF, and we’re ready to share. Thanks to a U.S. Department of Education Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant in 2012, we began the RIF Read for Success research study to test a model aimed at reducing summer reading loss in children from economically disadvantaged communities. The results made us cheer!
The Problem
Most of us cannot imagine a world without books, without bedtime stories or nursery rhymes, without that wonderful sensation of being read to or reading to others. But study after study confirms that the very memories so many of us hold dear are not typical for millions of Americans. In fact, it’s just the opposite—reading ability, reading materials, reading motivation, and subsequent achievement in school and beyond boils down to harsh economics: For children and families from impoverished communities, two out of three have no books in the home. With 16 million children living in poverty in the United States, too many young Americans are growing up without the basic tools to achieve literacy levels that provide the foundation for future success. Every day, 8,000 students drop out of high school, and nearly half of the adults in our country read at or below a basic level needed to complete everyday activities. Children who don’t learn to read well become adults who can’t read well, and who can’t fully contribute to society.
Beyond the sheer economic impact of low literacy levels, thousands of children each year are missing out on everything that comes with reading well—dreaming big, feeling confident, and achieving more.
Over the summer months, all students are at risk of losing some of what they learned during the school year. When school is in session, all children learn, even if not to the same levels; they all have access to teachers, books, and learning resources. But when school lets out for the summer, poorer children don’t have access to those resources. They don’t go on field trips to the museum or zoo; they don’t go to summer camp or the beach or the mountains; they are not likely to have the very basic materials at home that would support their learning. While they may learn as well as their peers during the school year, the amount of learning they lose over the summer can put them three years behind their peers at the end of fifth grade, and four years behind at the end of high school.
Our Findings
Research tells us that, on average, more than 80% of students from economically disadvantaged communities lose reading skills over the summer. In our study, while our goal was to cut that reading loss in half, to 40%, we actually saw students in our program make significant gains in reading!
On average, 57% of students in the program improved their reading proficiency over the summer – instead of 80% of children showing loss.
Nearly half of third graders made gains! Third grade is commonly known as the time when students move from learning to read into reading to learn. This means that young readers who haven’t mastered reading by the end of third grade are increasingly likely to be lost in more difficult content and vocabulary in the years that follow, as classwork on reading and writing about friends and pets changes to complicated subjects in biology, chemistry, U.S. history, algebra. Not having the skills to rise to the challenge is a factor for many among the 8,000 high schoolers who drop out each day.
Students who began with the lowest reading proficiency made the greatest gains, even those performing below the 10th percentile.
Strong readers improved, too. Read for Success works for children at all levels!
Some students also improved in science and math. Though our study did not track state tests in our 41 school systems, some schools told us that their students showed improvements in science and math assessments. When asked why, school officials said that they attributed those gains to RIF, to our lots and lots and lots of books and enrichment opportunities.
How Did We Do It?
We launched a research study in 2012 to see how schools and communities in some of the poorest, and often most rural, parts of the country could address summer learning loss. As part of the study, we distributed over 760,000 books to 33,000 children from 173 schools across 16 states. The program included science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) themed books for classrooms and media centers, as well as books for children to select and keep for themselves. We also provided training for teachers on how to use the classroom books to support their lessons, and gave special resources to parents to help them support their children at home. Finally, every school was given funds to use for further enrichment: hosting an author, bringing a traveling planetarium or zoo to the area, growing and harvesting a school garden, and other amazing projects – sometimes suggested by the students themselves! Learn more about the model here.
What’s Next?
Access to high-quality books
Giving children access to high-quality books that they can choose on their own is a critical part of our model. Children who choose books that interest them and that are on their own level are more motivated and empowered to read and learn even more! In our study, new books in the classroom and media center collections allowed teachers to integrate and connect different topics or subject areas (like history, math, and science) through stories and wonderful illustrations and photographs suited to elementary school children. These books allowed teachers to apply the concepts that children had learned in their curriculum. For example, in one second grade classroom, students reading about Rachel Carson, the founder of the environmental movement, wondered how old she would be today. Reading a book about her sparked their curiosity and led them on a mathematical journey. That day, the students learned how to do multiple-digit subtraction, even though, as one little girl told me on my visit, “We’re not old enough to do that but we figured it out.”
Teaching through texts
Not only are the books included centered on STEAM themes, most are characterized as informational texts, supporting other school subjects like history or science, and largely non-fiction. These kinds of books set the stage for the areas of learning that students will encounter in third grade, when they switch from learning to read to reading to learn. Doing certain activities, like the ones we create for our Multicultural Book Collection each year, can extend and reinforce learning beyond the book into all kinds of subjects. Children learn by doing, and these activities provide opportunities to do just that.
Schools can use RIF Read for Success
Some schools in our program have found funding to continue the program or have looked for their own ways to extend our model as far as possible. In Pamlico County, North Carolina, for example, Superintendent Wanda Dawson enlisted the entire community to ensure every student from kindergarten to fifth grade would receive books to take home over the summer. Other schools are using Title I money to provide books for family time.
We need to do more research
While this study has shown great results, we still have questions to answer. As always, we will be digging deeper to find out more about the best ways to help children with books. And we promise we’ll keep you updated.
One last thought!
Our RIF staff, including the expert advisors and training team, all feel that some of the best work we have ever done has been in the implementation of this study. The children, families, teachers, and staff of the 173 schools have been delightful to work with and a pleasure to serve. We are so grateful that the U.S. Department of Education, through its Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant, has allowed us the wonderful opportunity to add to the body of knowledge about summer learning loss, and we all feel fortunate to have been a part of this endeavor.
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