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Research FAQs
For full reviews and details about Literacy Collaborative research and citations for all studies, please go to the Research Studies page.
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Q: Have independent studies been conducted of the Literacy Collaborative?
Several independent studies have been conducted of the Literacy Collaborative. The largest and most recent was a $3 million, value-added study of 17 Literacy Collaborative schools (2004-2008). The study collected data over four years on 240 teachers and 8,500 students. It was funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education and conducted by researchers at Stanford University, University of Chicago, and Literacy Collaborative. The Principal Investigator was Dr. Anthony Bryk, an expert in school reform and the president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (Results below.)
Literacy Collaborative has also been studied by researchers at the Center for Research and Educational Policy (CREP) at the University of Memphis, Education Development Center (EDC) in Newton, Massachusetts, and the Center for Education Evaluation and Policy (CEEP) at Indiana University.
Q: Is there data showing that student literacy achievement increases in Literacy Collaborative schools?
The IES study described above (2004-2008) measured the literacy skills of students in grades K-2 over four years with the DIBELS and Terra Nova assessments. Forty percent of the students were low income. The average rate of student literacy growth in the 17 Literacy Collaborative schools increased by 18% in Year 1, 29% in Year 2, and 38% in Year 3.
The Center for Education Evaluation and Policy (CEEP) at Indiana University studied several early literacy interventions in Indiana and found that both low-poverty and high-poverty Literacy Collaborative schools showed substantially greater year-to-year improvements in passing rates on Indiana’s 3rd grade state reading test than schools with no literacy interventions.
Literacy Collaborative researchers at The Ohio State University analyzed 2nd grade Gates-MacGinitie reading scores in 52 Literacy Collaborative schools over five years (1996-2001). The entering skills of the kindergarten students remained the same but the average 2nd grade scores rose from 40 NCEs to 49 NCEs (on a scale of 0-100). The greatest gains were made in schools in which more than 50% of students received free or reduced-price lunch.
Q: Is there data showing that teaching improves in Literacy Collaborative schools?
The Primary Program. In the IES study described above, 240 primary Literacy Collaborative teachers were observed in their classrooms and evaluated three times per year for three years using a quantitative rubric. Analyses showed that average teaching skills improved and individual rates of teacher improvement were correlated with the amount of professional development and one-to-one coaching teachers received from their literacy coordinators.
The Intermediate Program. Education Development Center (EDC) in Newton, Massachusetts, studied schools that adopted the Literacy Collaborative intermediate program. Fifty-four teachers in grades 3-6 in 17 Literacy Collaborative schools were observed and evaluated three times over 18 months. Their rates of improvement were compared with those of 34 teachers observed in 9 control schools. On average, observed teaching skills improved in the Literacy Collaborative schools but there was no improvement in the control schools.
Q: Is there data showing that Literacy Collaborative reduces Special Education referrals and retention rates?
In their study of early literacy interventions in Indiana, the Center for Education Evaluation and Policy (CEEP) found that Literacy Collaborative schools in Indiana had lower 2nd grade special education referral rates and slightly lower 2nd grade retention rates than demographically similar schools without special literacy programs.
Q: Is there data showing that Literacy Collaborative helps improve student attitudes toward reading and writing? In 2004, Literacy Collaborative researchers observed, interviewed, and surveyed Literacy Collaborative students in grades 3-5 in Westfield, Massachusetts. More than 90% of the students said that they liked to read and write. Those interviewed also reported that they engaged in literacy activities during their free time at home. Teachers reported in focus groups that the Literacy Collaborative program had improved student attitudes and motivation.