Research/Evidence

The Proof is in the Classroom.

From day one, this curriculum has proven itself far beyond the test scores in both the regular classroom and special education.

Project Read® Program receives highest scores for the five components of effective reading instruction and is recommended as a core program as well as intervention and supplemental program.  

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Implementation of Project Read® Program
2003-2010
Boston Renaissance Charter Public School (BRCPS)
by Joyce Goldweitz, Reading Specialist

GETTING STARTED WITH PROJECT READ® PHONICS

Our students, already at-risk, needed an approach to learning that would engage them and enable them to access curricula. A multisensory, structured approach seemed the best avenue to achieve these goals, which included raising our low state test scores.

In 2003, our school, BRCPS, was awarded a Reading First grant that enabled the primary school (K-3) to retool and restructure its literacy program. With about 200 students at each grade level, it was a daunting task. Our grant stipulated that BRCPS would use Project Read Phonics for both supplemental instruction and intensive intervention. Project Read Phonics was made available for any students needing direct concept, multisensory instruction.
Instruction with Project Read Phonics resulted in immediate behavioral management success in many classrooms by helping to create a climate with focused and engaged students. Teachers enjoyed teaching the curriculum and noticed students mastering skills that they had previously been unable to achieve. We were required by the state to monitor student progress with a consistent benchmarking system and we noted that our test scores
were rising.

Significant gains were made not only in measures of Fluency, but in Vocabulary and Comprehension as well. Careful tracking of data continued and test scores continued to rise. The Reading First grant ended in 2007, but we continue to track our data and monitor student progress regularly. It is now 2010 and Project Read Phonics remains an integral part of regular classroom instruction and as a highly successful RTI model as well.

 
EXPANDING THE PROJECT READ CURRICULUM
With Project Read Phonics firmly in place by 2005, Project Read Framing Your Thoughts (FYT)-Written Expression Sentence Structure curriculum was added to classroom instruction. Students’ understanding of word function improved, and, with that, improvements noted in both oral and written language skills such as subject-verb agreement, syntax, and comprehension at the sentence level. By grade 3, our students’ ability to assign standard parts of speech labels to word function in a given sentence was seamless. Project Read Framing Your Thoughts-Written Expression curriculum has largely replaced the traditional language program and is now used as the primary tool to teach sentence structure.

In 2005, Project Read Story Form was also added to teach students narrative elements, how to interact with narrative text, and promote higher-level critical thinking skills. As other required professional development initiatives continue to be added, such as our recent series on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Project Read Comprehension is a seamless and natural match. (Even our first graders can expound on “life’s lessons” captured from a simple fairytale.)

Project Read Report Form, which teaches students how to collect, classify, and interact with expository text, has recently been piloted in some selected third grade classes with tremendous success. It has helped the students not only increase comprehension for nonfiction text, but has aided them in researching information for their projects. With increasing “push” for more non-fiction text in primary classrooms, Project Read Report Form has been a welcome and highly motivating addition to teach these important skills.

 
REPORTING ACHIEVEMENT
Since 2003, BRCPS has made steady gains in reading achievement. In 2006, BRCPS was selected to represent the state of Massachusetts at the National Reading First Conference in Reno, Nevada to disseminate its model and practices.

In addition, BRCPS was one of the few districts in the country to receive an unsolicited cash grant reward from the federal government (TAG) for improvement in reading skill.

The final and most important measure of a school’s academic success in the state of Massachusetts is the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System). Review of MCAS scores from 2006-2009 reveals marked improvements (see graphs). In 2009, BRCPS exceeded state averages in MCAS ELA (English/Language Arts) with 79% of those
students scoring in the Proficient and Proficient+ categories. Very few students appear in the Warning categories.

 
CONCLUSION
A school’s success depends on many factors. In our opinion, the Project Read program has played an important role in helping our students achieve academic success. Our number of SPED referrals and identifications has declined. Project Read curriculum is available in regular education classrooms. It is now 2010 and the Project Read program remains strong at our school. We continue to provide ongoing Project Read training and coaching for our teachers. Educating our students requires hard work everyday. The Project Read program has made that job more rewarding.

New Mexico Research Study (2004 - 2005)

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Michigan Longitudinal Study (1995 - 1999)

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Texas Longitudinal Study (1994-2001)

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Pilot and Major Studies: Bloomington, MN (1969-1989)

Pilot Study: At the end of the 1969-1970 school year the experimental group had made 2 to 3 times the progress of the control group as measured by standardized tests.   

Major Study:  At the end of the major study, 12 of the 19 behavioral objectives were met at a .001 level of 

significance.  Referrals for special education services were reduced by 72% over the three year period.  

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