In 2005, Senate Bill 19 established the Read to Achieve (RTA) program to improve the reading achievement of Kentucky's primary students. This legislation charged CCLD with creating a comprehensive research agenda that considers the impact of various reading and intervention programs on student achievement in reading. In response to the research requirements listed in SB 19, CCLD is working with researchers at six of Kentucky's colleges and universities to conduct a statewide study of the approximately 330 schools that have received grant funds as part of the RTA program.
During the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years, data sources for the study included a student reading achievement test, teacher surveys, classroom observations, and teacher interviews. In all 311 Read to Achieve schools, all primary students were assessed in the fall and spring, and those assessment scores were used to determine the progress of the students who received reading intervention.
In addition, a subset of 20 schools in 2005-2006 and 19 schools in 2006-2007 were randomly-selected. Classroom and intervention teachers were observed and interviewed over the course of the school year. This data was utilized to determine the instructional features used with intervention students and will help researchers better understand the effectiveness of the reading intervention programs.