Under contract, in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), APRC wrote and ADE was awarded a federal Reading First grant in order to improve primary reading instruction and ensure that all students can read at grade level by the end of third grade. Schools are required to implement a scientifically-based reading curriculum that has been proven effective. The APRC was contracted to evaluate how well ADE was ensuring students could read by examining five evaluation questions in the areas of professional development, adoption of a scientific core reading program to aid instruction, an establishment of a school-wide assessment system, leadership development, and use of assessment instruments to measure reading results.

ARIZONA'S READING FIRST EVALUATION

A cornerstone of the No Child Left Behind Act signed by President Bush in January 2002 is the Reading First initiative. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) was awarded a federal Reading First grant to improve primary reading instruction and ensure that all students can read at grade level by the end of third grade. In 2002-2003, ADE accepted applications from schools to participate in Reading First. In 2003-2004, the program was implemented in kindergarten through third grades in the 63 Arizona schools that were awarded Reading First sub grants. In 2004-2005, nine additional schools were added to the Reading First program and ally continued into the 2005-2006 year. For 2006-2007, approximately 50 of the schools will continue to receive Reading First support while another application process will add approximately 90 new schools.

The Arizona Prevention Resource Center (APRC) serves as the external evaluation team for the Arizona Reading First project, with a subcontract to the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in Portland, Oregon, to aid in the evaluation. The Arizona Reading First evaluation incorporates a multi-year, mixed-methods, multiple-instruments evaluation design to determine the level of effectiveness of the reading strategies. Data are collected from reading teachers, reading coaches, reading specialists, principals, district administrators, and of course, K-3 students. Measurement tools include pre and post tests, surveys, site visit observations, interviews, focus groups, and reading test scores.

The evidence is clear that early diagnosis and intervention can prevent reading difficulties from developing into reading problems. Research has also found that older struggling readers can develop strong reading capabilities under the right instructional conditions. A system-wide response can reverse the cycle of failure that many of our students face because they struggle to read.