Reading Education Policy —
Abstract of

Taking Seriously the Idea of Reform: One High School's Efforts to Make Reading More Responsive to All Students

William G. Brozo

Charles H. Hargis

Teachers and administrators at one high school took advantage of a reading grant to transform the literate culture of the school. With the support of two university professors, school staff launched and sustained a schoolwide reading initiative during the 2000–20001 school year designed to help meet the reading and learning needs of students at all ability levels. First, the school implemented low-stakes reading achievement testing and discovered that in some classrooms disparities of up to 15 grade levels existed. All teachers were provided test results for their students as a basis for modifying instruction. Instructional modifications included a schoolwide sustained silent reading program that allowed each students to select their own reading material. Content area teachers made available to their struggling students easier readings on class topics and implemented engaging literacy and learning strategies in order to bring everyone into the flow of instruction. One additional component of the reading initiative was buddy reading. Several low-ability high school students met regularly with elementary students to read together and create their own books. Near the end of the school year, low-stakes achievement tests were readministered and the results showed students made significant improvement.

[Note: This article is reprinted from Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47(1), 14–23. dx.doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.47.1.3]

Brozo, W.G., & Hargis, C.H. (2005). Taking Seriously the Idea of Reform: One High School's Efforts to Make Reading More Responsive to All Students. In P. Shannon, & J. Edmondson (Eds.), Reading Education Policy (pp. 134-148). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.