A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Reading Excellence Act State Competitive Grant Program: Non-Regulatory Guidance for State Applicants – March 9, 1999

Introduction

The Reading Excellence Act program addresses the problems of the nation's neediest districts and schools, providing resources to implement findings from reading research to improve instruction for children with critical learning needs. According to the 1998 results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 68 percent of fourth graders in high poverty schools are not able to read at even the "basic" level on NAEP. These children are already far behind their more fortunate peers. A much smaller percentage of children in low poverty schools—23 percent—are not able to read at the basic level.

This program supports research-based reading activities that are integrated into state and local reform efforts. Local projects will offer well-integrated components to improve instruction at the elementary and preschool levels, work with families to ensure that children have good support for learning, and provide extended learning opportunities that support classroom instruction in reading. Together these components will help turn around poorly performing schools or provide additional support to good schools struggling to serve the neediest students in the district.

In the last 20 years, a considerable body of knowledge has been developed on effective ways to teach children to read. It is now time to put those findings into practice across the country. The Reading Excellence Act will provide assistance to teachers to allow them to use findings from scientifically based reading research, including findings relating to phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension, to help improve students? reading.

Standards-based reform

The Reading Excellence Act joins the family of federal education initiatives at a time when states and school districts are beginning to reap the benefits of the national school reform movement. For the past few years, most educational policy makers and practitioners have come to agree that school reform can result in increased student achievement only to the extent that we:

• Set high academic standards that all students are expected to achieve;
• Measure student progress;
• Ensure that there is a well-qualified teacher in every classroom; and
• Hold schools accountable for results.

The Administration and the Congress designed the 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) around these four principles. Today, most states have adopted challenging standards for their students—particularly in reading and mathematics—and there are promising signs of real progress toward meeting these higher standards in the classroom. Most importantly, ESEA?s flagship program—Title I—works through states and communities to support higher standards in the poorest districts and schools, where the needs are the greatest. Teachers in Title I schools increasingly reporting that standards are helping to guide instruction. Moreover, preliminary data gathered for the upcoming reauthorization of the ESEA from states that have implemented the Title I standards and assessment provisions generally show increased achievement levels in high-poverty schools.

Need for improved reading instruction

At the same time that the ESEA was being redesigned in 1994, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) focused the nation?s attention on the fact that schools were badly in need of extra help in reading instruction. NAEP reported in that year that 40 percent of the nation?s fourth graders failed to read at the basic level. Sixty-nine percent of African American and 64 percent of Hispanic American fourth-graders were reading below the basic level. The fact that fourth-graders have such poor reading skills is particularly troublesome. Schools typically stop teaching reading by the fourth grade and start expecting students to use their reading skills to learn other subjects—science, mathematics, literature, and social studies. Children who are not reading well by this time are in great danger of failing in school.

The Administration responded to the problems identified by NAEP in several ways:

• First, through the ESEA reauthorization, the Administration proposed sweeping changes in federal elementary and secondary education programs, linking the setting of high standards with targeted resources for improving instruction in the fundamental subjects of reading and mathematics in the schools that needed them the most.

• The President and the Secretary of Education put reading at the top of an agenda of seven national education priorities, setting as a goal that "All children learn to read independently and well by the end of third grade."

• The President issued a challenge to the country—the America Reads Challenge. He called on parents, teachers, libraries, religious institutions, universities, college students, the media, community and national groups, business leaders, and senior citizens to join the effort to meet this challenge. Through the America Reads Challenge, Federal Work-Study students in more than 1,100 colleges and universities are tutoring children in reading. Thousands of America Reads tutors serve their communities through Americorps, VISTA, National Senior Service Corps, and Learn & Serve America.

The hard work that states have invested in developing higher standards and setting goals for improving student achievement for all students is beginning to pay off. Four years after the dismaying reading results were announced from the 1994 NAEP, there are signs of improvement in reading at all three grade levels. In the 1998 assessment, average scores increased over the 1994 level for students in grades 4, 8, and 12, with the lower-performing fourth-graders and most middle school children showing the most progress.

While this overall progress is encouraging, there is still a troubling gap in achievement between disadvantaged and minority students and their more advantaged peers.

Reading Excellence Act

The Reading Excellence Act comes at an opportune time to help accelerate the progress of student learning. This program creates an important link between the research community and states and school districts that have been setting high standards, assessing student progress, placing highly qualified teachers in classrooms, and targeting resources to areas of great need.

The Act amends Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by adding a component to improve students? reading ability. The program has five main purposes, as stated in section 2251:

• providing children with the readiness skills and support they need in early childhood to learn to read once they enter school;

• teaching every child to read by the end of the third grade;

• improving the reading skills of students and the instructional practices of teachers and, as appropriate, other instructional staff;

• expanding the number of high quality family literacy programs; and

• providing early literacy intervention to reduce the number of children who are inappropriately referred to special education.

To accomplish these purposes, the Act supports four primary activities related to reading:

• professional development;

• extended learning (tutoring and after-school programs);

• family literacy; and

• transition programs for kindergarten students.

The Act emphasizes strongly the importance of scientifically based reading research, including findings related to phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension, in carrying out these activities. SEAs that receive funding will make competitive subgrants to eligible LEAs for two programs: Local Reading Improvement and Tutorial Assistance.

In adopting these research-based programs, schools and LEAs will ensure that teachers receive professional development associated with the reading instruction program; that family literacy services will be available to involve parents; that special assistance will be given to kindergartners who need help making the transition to the first grade; and that tutors who have been appropriately trained will provide additional help to children. The National Institute for Literacy will be available to provide special help to LEAs and schools in choosing reading instruction strategies appropriate for their needs.

To ensure broad-based participation and commitment to state and local reading goals, each state?s Reading Excellence program will be overseen by a reading and literacy partnership consisting of the Governor, the chief state school officer, members of the state legislature, and representatives of eligible local educational agencies (LEAs), community-based organizations, state directors of federal or state programs supporting reading instruction, parents, teachers, family literacy service providers, and a variety of optional participants. At the local level, each LEA will work in partnership with a community-based organization.

Using all available resources

Recent federal legislation has crafted a framework of educational reform intended to improve education for all children, including those most in need. Local Reading Excellence programs will integrate key elements of reform—including standards reforms, changes to improve teaching and learning, flexibility and accountability for states and school districts, family and community involvement, reduction in class size for K-3 grades, and greater targeting of resources to highest poverty districts and communities—with its research-based focus on improving elementary school reading instruction.

Targeting Assistance Where the Need is Greatest. Both the Reading Excellence and the Class-Size Reduction programs are designed to help the poorest and most disadvantaged of students. This focus links these two new resources naturally to Title I of the ESEA. Title I has been helping schools lay a foundation for success, by setting challenging reading standards and aligned assessments for all children in Title I schools. Further, through its schoolwide programs, Title I offers schools the opportunity of using Reading Excellence Act funds together with funding from many other sources to provide coherent education programs for all children in the schools. While schools with schoolwide programs are expected to carry out the basic intent and purpose of all the federal programs whose funds are included, they are not required to track the funds separately.

Professional Development. The Reading Excellence Act was appropriately authorized as a part of the ESEA and, by its placement in Title II, is linked with the program that has been most responsible for providing solid professional development opportunities to teachers—the Eisenhower Professional Development program. The Eisenhower program has been used to improve the skills primarily of teachers of mathematics and science. Schools can now bring their Eisenhower experience to bear on improving the skills of all teachers in reading instruction for young children. In addition, the new Teacher Quality Enhancement program (Title II, HEA) will support comprehensive approaches to improving teacher quality in states, institutions of higher education, and local districts.

Reducing Class-Size with Qualified Teachers. Like the new Class-size Reduction program, the Reading Excellence Act concentrates on young children in the first through third grades, in addition to providing special help to kindergartners. The Class-size Reduction program and the Reading Excellence program can and should be viewed in tandem by school districts to ensure that additional, highly qualified teachers are available to teach reading to the youngest and neediest children.

Extended Learning Opportunities. Many children would benefit by receiving more instruction in reading than can be provided by teachers during the regular classroom day. The local subgrants (Local Reading Improvement and Tutorial Assistance) both provide resources for tutoring and extended learning programs (before- and after-school, weekends, during non-instructional periods of the school day, or summer. Two major programs in the department (21st Century Schools and Federal Work Study programs) provide resources for extended learning (as do some smaller programs as well). Reading Excellence programs can take advantage of these related programs but may need to add special training to ensure staff are well-trained and that the programs directly support classroom instruction.

Family Literacy and Early Childhood Education. One of the most important interventions for reading is to help parents of young children develop skills for being their children's first teacher, including improving their own literacy if needed. In addition, strong early childhood education programs supplement the parents' efforts by reinforcing emergent literacy and starting to develop children's phonemic awareness. The Department strongly supports family literacy and preschool services through its Title I, Even Start, and Adult Education and Family Literacy programs—as well as through IDEA's preschool state grants. The state and local Reading Excellence program will probably be able to build on already well-developed efforts but can supplement them as needed to provide a comprehensive program of services centered on the most needy schools and feeder preschools.

Section H offers further ideas and examples of ways in which Reading Excellence programs can work cooperatively with these and other federal education programs.

Guidance for applicants

These guidelines contain information for state and local educational agencies on:

• General implementation and purpose of the Reading Excellence Act programs

• The state educational agency application process

• State administration of the program

• Allowable use of funds and application/eligibility process for local educational agencies

• Principles and criteria for selecting and using scientifically based reading research

This document provides guidance on only two issues that may eventually require rulemaking:

1. A provision that the SEA must include the proposed local application form and description of the application process and criteria in its application to the Department.

2. Clarification that funds are to be used only for activities to improve elementary school reading instruction.

Where possible, the guidance encourages varying approaches and focuses on what can be done rather than what cannot. Any requirements referred to in this document are taken directly from the authorizing statute, from the Closing Date Notice, or from other existing statutes or regulations whose requirements pertain to this program. In many cases, the related section of the law is cited; absence of a citation, however, does not imply that the requirement is not contained in the statute. U.S. Department of Education officials will consider state and local recipients that follow these guidelines to be in compliance with the applicable federal statutes and regulations.

Please note that the guidance is comprehensive, addressing many items in the Reading Excellence Act legislation. Readers may wish to skip to sections of particular interest as follows:

[America Reads Challenge]

[Section A. Overview]