Striving Readers Evaluation

In 2006, CCLD received a $2.8 million grant to research the effectiveness of a literacy intervention program as part of the U.S. Department of Education's Striving Readers program, a federal effort to raise the reading achievement levels of middle and high school students. Kentucky was one of just eight states to receive funding through the Striving Readers program, and as part of the Kentucky Content Literacy Consortium, CCLD helped ensure the provision of $17 million to improve the literacy instruction of middle and high school students in 7 districts and 23 schools in Kentucky. In addition to funding reading intervention services for struggling middle and high school readers, the grant will provide professional development for content-area teachers focused on implementing techniques for integrating literacy instruction in the subject areas.

CCLD is responsible for conducting a rigorous experimental evaluation of the reading intervention program. This evaluation will examine the impact of the Kentucky Striving Readers program on student reading achievement, student reading motivation, and student strategy use. As well, the evaluation will investigate the effects of the professional development on teachers' efficacy and instructional practices.

Additional information may be found at the Kentucky Content Literacy Consortium webpage.