Center for Public Education Releases Report on What Works In Reading

Alexandria, Va. - November 13, 2008 - The Center for Public Education (CPE) released a research-based guide to early reading. From beginner to stellar: Five tips on developing skilled readers examines what works for teaching young children the basics of reading, and focuses on the stages of reading development; components of skillful reading; teacher preparation; how well students are reading; early diagnosis; and what the research means for schools.

Research around new readers has identified five key components for successful reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each of these is detailed in parent-friendly handouts in the report. The report also provides instructional strategies for each of these specific components that are useful for the classroom and at home. It further notes that diagnosis of reading struggles should begin as early as kindergarten or first grade.

The report also offers common sense recommendations for school districts:

• Assess reading skills early and regularly: Early identification of struggling readers can help put young children on the path to skillful reading.
• Use interventions that look beyond special education placement: Consider individual instructional strategies and those that have shown promise in helping struggling readers.
• Adopt research-based instructional techniques: Interventions featured in the What Works Clearinghouse, which highlights scientifically based early reading instruction, may serve as useful models.
• Provide professional development programs to help current teachers: According to research most of today's teachers did not receive a sufficient background in reading research.
• Encourage local teacher education programs to include reading research in the curriculum: As reading science becomes more embedded in these programs, future teachers will be better prepared to provide sound reading instruction.
• Allocate sufficient human and financial resources: Your school district’s budget should demonstrate that the school board and administrative team recognize the primacy of reading instruction in a child's education.

To view thefull reportvisit the Center's Web site (www.centerforpubliceducation.org). For questions, please contact the NSBA press office.

The Center for Public Education is a national resource for credible and practical information about public education and its importance to the well-being of our nation. The Center provides up-to-date research, data, and analysis on current education issues and explores ways to improve student achievement and engage public support for public schools. The Center is a joint initiative of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and National School Boards Foundation.

The National School Boards Association is a national federation of state school boards associations that represent more than 95,000 school board members who govern the nation's public schools. The organization's mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education throughout the United States through local school board leadership.