Remedial reading programs to be studied in Allegheny County schools
By Eleanor Chute, Post-Gazette Education Writer

The four remedial reading programs aren't exactly household words in this part of the country, but they may provide the key to helping children catch up.

The Power4Kids Reading Initiative, started by the Haan Foundation for Children of San Francisco, yesterday announced the four programs that will be used for intensive remediation in a scientific study of slow readers in third and fifth grades in about 40 schools in Allegheny County. The names of the schools have not yet been announced, but about 60 applied.

At a news conference yesterday, Joseph Torgesen, the principal investigator, a professor of psychology and education at Florida State University, and director of the Florida Center for Reading Research, said the programs were chosen on the basis of their track records.

" We felt we weren't going to waste 100 hours of some child's time," he said.

The four programs, which have been on the market for years, are:

Corrective Reading, published by Science Research Associates, which is part of McGraw Hill in Columbus, Ohio. This is the remedial part of the Direct Instruction technique, in which teachers use specific scripts. Direct Instruction already is being used to try to boost achievement in Clairton City schools.

Failure Free Reading, designed for readers who can't seem to master phonics. The program doesn't depend on mastering phonics but instead emphasizes fluency and reading comprehension. In addition to the teacher, it uses the computer as a coach. It is based in Concord, N.C.

Spell Read PAT (Phonemic Awareness Training) that began with a program for the deaf in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and focuses on precise ways to "decode" words. It works on both accuracy and fluency.

Wilson Reading Method, which works on decoding skills as well as spelling. It is based in Milbury, Mass.

Torgesen said that the Failure Free Reading and Spell Read PAT take a broader approach, with word level understanding, accuracy, fluency and comprehension skills. He said the portions of the Wilson and Corrective Reading programs that are being used primarily emphasize accuracy and reading fluency.

The three-year study is expected to cost nearly $9 million, including $4 million from the federal government and help from some other foundations, including the Heinz Endowments. Researchers describe the study, which will involve 800 children here and assistance from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, as the largest of its type.

The participating children will be in the bottom 20 percent of readers. Of those chosen, 480 will receive one of the four strategies. The others will be in a control group and will receive whatever instruction and extra help they would have received otherwise.

Teachers, each of whom will be trained in one of the strategies, will work with the children in groups of three to try to bring them up to the average reading level in 100 hours of instruction.

Cinthia Haan, co-founder of the Haan Foundation, said she thinks the scientific study is the only way to find out what really works for children. She is looking for solutions that are highly effective, have results that can be repeated in various schools and are affordable.

Torgesen said some third- and fifth-graders are two years behind their grade levels. He expects the study will show that intensive help for older children will accelerate their reading growth quicker than is often the case. Those students must get more than a year's worth of growth in a year or they will never catch up.

The study also is intended to show which type of help is best for which type of student.

" All the programs work, but they don't work for all kids," said Joseph Lockavitch, president of Failure Free.

Eleanor Chute can be reached at echute@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1955.