STAR: Evidence-Based Reading Instruction
for Adults Reading at the Intermediate Level
During the academic year 2008-2009, Texas will participate with six other states in the second national cohort of the STudent Achievement in Reading (STAR) training. Our Texas group will have 45 members and will include both teachers and administrators. The goal of this training program is to help adult educators understand and implement evidence-based reading instruction in the classroom to improve student success rates at the intermediate level.
The STAR training is part of a larger Office of Vocational and Adult Education initiative called the National Diffusion of Reading Research. The STAR training focuses on Adult Basic Education (ABE) students reading at the intermediate-low and intermediate-high levels (NRS levels 3 & 4) or those students having a 4–8.9 reading grade level equivalency.
Why does the STAR reading training concentrate on this population? Intermediate level ABE students have difficulty transitioning to Adult Secondary Education. A significant number of students in Texas have difficulty improving reading skills beyond the intermediate reading level and cannot show progress. For example, in the 2006-2007 academic year, Texas had 12,855 students at the ABE intermediate-low level; of those 39% completed the level. Only 32% of the 11,377 Texas students at the ABE intermediate-high level completed; this is the lowest completion rate for any level.
The STAR training consists of three 2-day training institutes. In the first institute, participants will learn how to conduct diagnostic reading assessments which measure student skills in four of the major components of reading: alphabetics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. They will learn to create reading profiles that characterize the strengths and needs of each student and will learn how to target instruction to meet student needs. The first session also includes time to examine the program and classroom structures to determine any changes necessary to support implementation of these methods. Finally, both teachers and administrators will develop a personal action plan for implementation.
The second 2-day institute explores the evidence-based strategies for teaching alphabetic skills, vocabulary, and fluency. Participants will learn how to plan lessons that include instruction and practice in these skills. The program and state support available to effectively implement these teaching practices will be evaluated. Then, implementation action plans for classroom instructors, local programs, and state level support will be developed.
The final 2-day institute covers comprehension strategies and planning lessons that include comprehension instruction. Participants will discuss key elements of successful implementation and evaluate the status of implementation in their local program. Then everyone will set goals and develop action plans to support implementation of evidence-based reading instruction for the classroom, the program, and the state level. This session will close with a discussion of what must happen to sustain professional development in evidence-based reading instruction in Texas.
Between institute sessions, the national trainers will return to Texas for technical assistance visits in the programs. Trainers will observe how the program and teachers are doing on their implementation action plans. They will meet with teachers and administrators, answering questions and offering suggestions to enhance implementation. Administrators as well as GREAT Center personnel will be invited to shadow the trainers on these visits so that Texas’ professional development personnel will be able to provide technical assistance for teachers in the future.
The professional development design of the STAR training draws on the results of the How Teachers Change study (Smith, 2003). This study found that administrators play an important role in how effectively teachers can make changes in their teaching approach and implement new teaching methods in their classrooms. Since the goals of the STAR training are the implementation of and the long-term sustainability of evidence-based reading instruction, administrators are included in the cohort. Smith (2003) also found it important for teachers to support each other through informal conversation, observation, and problem solving, so the STAR training encourages sending several teachers from the same program to facilitate collegial support.
Three research publications support the content of the STAR training institutes. First, the Adult Reading Component Study (ARCS), led by John Strucker (2003), informs the diagnostic testing element of the STAR training. Strucker found that adult readers with the same score on conventional reading comprehension tests, such as the TABE, can actually have very different skill levels in word recognition skills, spelling, word meaning, and oral reading rate.
The second and third studies inform the instructional practices selected for inclusion in the STAR training: Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction by John R. Kruidenier (2002) and Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers by Susan McShane (2005). These reports reflect a consensus among experts on the implications for instruction of the existing research on reading instruction for adults. Intermediate level adult students should have specific instruction that meets their differing needs, so the developers of the STAR training selected research-based instructional methods that have proven effective in developing the different skill areas.
This year’s STAR training initiative is the first step in developing the capacity within Texas to provide professional development in evidence-based reading instruction for adults who read at the intermediate level.
Curtis, M. E. & Kruidenier, J. R. (2005). Teaching adults to read. Washington, DC: Partnership for Reading. This document is a 12-page summary of Kruidenier, J. (2002). Retrieved September 18, 2008, from www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/html/teach_adults/teach_adults.html
Kruidenier, J. (2002). Research-based principles for adult basic education reading instruction. Washington, DC: Partnership for Reading. (Note: this publication reviews existing research on reading instruction for adults and summarizes scientifically-based principles and practices). Retrieved September 18, 2008, from www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/html/adult_ed/adult_ed_1.html
McShane, S. (2005). Applying research in reading instruction for adults: First steps for teachers. Washington, DC: Partnership for Reading. (Note: this publication focuses on classroom reading instruction practices that are evidence-based and supported by experts in the field of reading. It is teacher-friendly and addresses the “how to” of scientifically-based reading instruction for adults). Retrieved August 25, 2008, from www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/html/mcshane/index.html
National Institute for Literacy. (2003). ARCS: The adult reading components study at NCSALL. Retrieved September 18, 2008 from the NCSALL Web site (Note: this is the 4-page Brief Edition of the report; other versions are also available on the NCSALL Web site) www.ncsall.net/?id=652#strucker
Smith, C., Hofer, J., Gillespie, M., Solomon, M., and Rowe, K. (Nov. 2003). How teachers change: A Study of professional development in adult education. NCSALL Report #25. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning Literacy. (Note: this is the 4-page Brief Edition of the report; other versions are also available on this Web site.) Retrieved September 18, 2008, from www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/ resources/research/brief25.pdf
Strucker, J. (1997). What silent reading tests alone can’t tell you. Focus on Basics, 1, pp. 13-17. Retrieved September 18, 2008, from www.ncsall.net/?id=456
NOTE: These resources are also available through the TCALL Clearinghouse Library.
