Research-based Reading reform: The impact of state-funded interventions on educational outcomes in urban elementary schools
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With passage of the Reading Excellence Act, many states now have the opportunity to develop programs that support local efforts to improve early reading. It has long been known that young children who attend urban schools are at greater risk of not learning to read compared to students attending other types of schools (Slavin 1991; Snow, Burns, and Griffith 1998). However, there is little agreement about what types of reading interventions work best in urban schools. Much of the research receiving attention from policymakers has emphasized explicit approaches to instruction (e.g., Foorman et al. 1998) and has been criticized because it promotes political agendas (Allington and Woodside-Jiron 1999) or uses biased research methods (Taylor et al. 2000). Although the researchers whose research, funded by the National Institute of Child and Human Development, is at the center of the storm have defended their methods and arguments (Foorman et al. 2000; Mathes and Torgesen 2000), the whole controversy creates ambiguity and uncertainty for reformers in states and urban districts. Specifically, the following questions merit consideration in states and urban school districts:. 2003 State University of New York. All rights reserved.
