Reading First: Lessons from Successful State Reading Initiatives

By David R. Denton

This report is intended to assist states seeking approval for federal funding under the Reading First program and to share lessons from state reading initiatives about what works and what does not work in state efforts to improve elementary reading instruction. Information regarding the requirements for funding under Reading First, a major program of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, comes primarily from states whose plans already have been approved. Information about successful reading reform strategies is drawn from the experiences of all SREB states that have undertaken initiatives to improve reading instruction and raise student reading performance since the mid-1990s.

Keywords: Reading, reading instruction, Reading First, No Child Left Behind, peer coaching, professional development, Reading Recovery

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Goals that it reflects: Achievement for all groups of students exceeds national averages and performance gaps are closed.

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