IRA’s Summary of the National Reading Panel Report

In 1997, the U.S. Congress authorized creation of a National Reading Panel (NRP) charged with investigating the most effective methods for teaching children to read. In April 2000 the panel released the report of its findings.

The panel determined that effective instruction includes teaching children to break apart and manipulate the sounds in words (phonemic awareness), teaching that these sounds are represented by letters that can be blended (phonics), having children read aloud while providing guidance, teaching word meanings, and providing comprehension strategies. The panel also found that improvement in teachers’ knowledge and practice leads to higher student achievement.

The IRA Summary

The IRA summary is a quick reference guide to the NRP report, intended to assist educators, researchers, students, and others in using the NRP findings to plan research, design curriculum, write grant applications, or advocate sound education policy. It focuses on the work of panel subgroups charged with reviewing research on specific topics:

Alphabetics, including phonemic awareness and phonics (chapters 1 and 2 of the panel’s report)

Fluency (chapter 3)

Comprehension, including vocabulary, text comprehension, and comprehension strategies (chapter 4)

Teacher education and reading instruction (chapter 5)

Computer technology and reading instruction (chapter 6)

Additional IRA Resources

General:

Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Putting the National Reading Panel Report Into Practice, a collection of readings from The Reading Teacher

What Is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction? (position statement)

“The National Reading Panel: Using Research to Create More Literate Students,” by Timothy Shanahan (in Reading Online)

“The National Reading Panel Report” [essay book review], by James W. Cunningham (in Reading Research Quarterly)

On specific topics from the report:

Focus on Beginning Readers

Phonemic Awareness and the Teaching of Reading (position statement)

The Role of Phonics in Reading Instruction (position statement)

“Phonemic Awareness Instruction Helps Children Learn to Read: Evidence from the National Reading Panel’s Meta-Analysis,” by Linnea C. Ehri et al. (in Reading Research Quarterly)

“Oral Reading in the School Literacy Curriculum” [Theory and Research Into Practice], by Timothy V. Rasinski and James V. Hoffman (in Reading Research Quarterly)

Focus on Reading Comprehension

Focus on Teacher Education

Prepared to Make a Difference (report of the National Commission on Excellence in Elementary Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction)

Standards for Reading Professionals

Focus on Technology

Integrating Literacy and Technology in the Curriculum (position statement)