Students Using SRA/McGraw-Hill's Reading Mastery Score Highest in Florida Reading Achievement Study

A study of 30,000 Florida students in Grades 1-3 found that those using SRA/McGraw-Hill's Reading Mastery earned the highest scores. "Examining the core: Relations among reading curricula, poverty, and first through third grade reading achievement," was published in the Journal of School Psychology, Issue 47, by a team of researchers at the Florida Center for Reading Research.

The study compared the effects of six core reading curricula on oral reading fluency growth, while appraising whether these effects differ by grade level and for children living in lower socioeconomic (SES) households.

Success was measured by oral reading fluency (ORF), which correlates positively with standardized measures of reading achievement. ORF is often touted as the best overall indicator of reading proficiency for students in the early stages of learning to read.

Overall, students in the Reading Mastery curriculum demonstrated generally greater overall ORF growth than students in other curricula. Also, they more frequently met or exceeded benchmarks for adequate achievement in Grades 1-3.

"Reading Mastery has been proven to work in a variety of classrooms - from core to special education to low-income," said Karen Sorrentino, director of marketing for SRA/McGraw-Hill. "The recent Federal economic stimulus funds for Title I and IDEA grants will help bring this intervention program to many more students."

About Reading Mastery

Reading Mastery Signature Edition 2008 uses the highly explicit, systematic approach of Direct Instruction to accelerate reading and helps students achieve a high rate of success. Three strands address Reading, Language Arts, and Literature through a common instructional design that helps students learn more efficiently. With the addition of technology-based resources for both additional practice and professional development, Reading Mastery Signature Edition helps teachers optimize each minute spent in the classroom.

  The Reading Strand:
  --  Addresses all five essential components of reading as identified by
      Reading First - phonemic awareness, phonics and word analysis,
      fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
  --  Provides spelling instruction to help students make the connection
      between decoding and spelling patterns

  --  Develops decoding, word recognition, and comprehension skills that
      transfer to other subject areas

  The Language Arts Strand:
  --  Teaches the oral language skills necessary to understand what is said,
      written, and read in the classroom
  --  Helps students communicate ideas and information effectively

  --  Develops the ability to use writing strategies and processes
      successfully

  The Literature Strand:
  --  Supports the reading strand by offering a wide variety of literary
      forms and text structures
  --  Provides multiple opportunities for students to practice vocabulary
      and comprehension strategies and write for authentic purposes

  --  Gives ample opportunity for students to read at their independent
      level

Each strand can be used as a supplement to the core curriculum for targeted intervention, or combined for use as a comprehensive, stand-alone reading and language arts program that meets rigorous state standards.

An overwhelming preponderance of evidence shows Direct Instruction is successful. Direct Instruction has one of the strongest bodies of research, accumulated over nearly 50 years, to establish its effectiveness.

In 2008, the Best Evidence Encyclopedia rated SRA's Direct Instruction programs as showing Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness in a review of programs for Grades 2-5. No other program received a higher rating.

A 2003 meta-analysis listed Direct Instruction as one of only three programs, out of 29 studied, to show the "strongest evidence of effectiveness." Called "Comprehensive School Reform and Student Achievement," it was written by Geoffrey D. Borman, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Gina M. Hewes, Johns Hopkins University; Laura T. Overman, Johns Hopkins University; and Shelly Brown, University of North Carolina.

Twelve studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals about Reading Mastery and DISTAR Reading. (Reading Mastery was formerly called DISTAR Reading.) All the studies examined the effectiveness of one or more of the Direct Instruction language programs across a wide variety of settings and populations. Details are available in "The Research Base for Reading Mastery" by Cheryl Schieffer, Ronald C. Martella, Nancy E. Marchand-Martella, and Flint Simonsen of Eastern Washington University, available upon request and at SRAonline.com.

G.L. Adams also published a meta-analysis of independent research studies on the program in 1996, which found that Reading Mastery and Direct Instruction have a significant positive effect on student reading ability. Adams analyzed 44 research articles about Reading Mastery. His study indicated that Reading Mastery's effect size ... or its statistical impact ... on improving student reading ability was 0.68, a large positive impact that is rarely found in educational research.

Direct Instruction also reached the highest rating for program efficacy from the American Institutes of Research in 1999.

About SRA/McGraw-Hill

SRA/McGraw-Hill is the top provider of specialized research-based educational programs and professional development for the elementary market. Leading programs include SRA Imagine It! reading program, Direct Instruction, SRA Number Worlds, and additional core and supplemental programs. SRA is part of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP). McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment, and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at MHEducation.com. For more information on SRA/McGraw-Hill's products, call 1-888-SRA-4543 and visit SRAonline.com.

  Media
  Contacts: Karen Sorrentino                   Melina Metzger
            SRA/McGraw-Hill                    Paul Werth Associates
            (614) 750-7277                     (614) 224-8114 Ext. 236
            karen_sorrentino@mcgraw-hill.com   mmetzger@paulwerth.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

SOURCE: SRA/McGraw-Hill

CONTACT: Karen Sorrentino of SRA/McGraw-Hill, +1-614-750-7277,
karen_sorrentino@mcgraw-hill.com; or Melina Metzger of Paul Werth Associates,
+1-614-224-8114 Ext. 236, mmetzger@paulwerth.com

Web Site: http://www.sraonline.com/