Expansion of Literacy Programs

A recap of outcome measurements recorded during the 2010-2011 program year include the following:

 Overall Participation

• A total of 1,795 total youth between the ages of 1^st through 6^th grade participated in Literacy programs throughout the course of the year. Yet for the purpose of tracking outcomes measurements, as was done during the 2009-2010 evaluation, only youth in 2nd and 3rd grades participated in the ongoing tracking and evaluation process.

• A total of 172 youth across six site locations participated in ongoing targeted Literacy intervention from the start to the end of the program year (approximately 30 youth from each of the locations). 82 youth were enrolled in the 2nd grade and 90 youth were enrolled in the 3rd grade.

• 70% of youth who participated, were returning participants to the program, while 30% of youth were new to the program.

                                    2^nd and 3^rd Grade Assessment Outcomes 2010-2011

Due to the fact this program focuses upon children who have been identified as struggling readers or have a recognized learning deficiency, seeing youth score below the norm for their age level benchmarks is not uncommon. The goal is to ensure that these students establish literacy skills that can be built upon to improve their academic success and result in scores that are in line with, near, or even exceed their age appropriate benchmark indicators. Without targeted literacy instruction, the majority of these youth would not be expected to meet their benchmark goals, therefore participating in these programs helps ensure their success beyond 2nd and 3rd grades as they continue to participate in the programs or move on to more traditional forms of instruction.

 2nd Grade Participant Outcomes (Organization Wide):

• The goal for a typical 2nd grade student at the start of the school year is to be able to read unpracticed passages of at least 44 correct words per minute in order to be on target for meeting the year-end benchmark goal of 90 or more correct words per minute.

• Organization wide, the median score of 2nd grade participants at the start of the program year was 40 words per minute, slightly below the expected goal of 44 wpm. At the time of post-testing performed in June 2011 the median score of 2nd grade participants was 94 correct words per minute, placing this group as a whole slightly above the expected benchmark goal of 90 wpm. This growth represents an improvement 54 words per minute or 113% in median score for 2nd grade participants.

3rd Grade Participant Outcomes (Organization Wide):

• The goal for a typical 3rd grade student at the start of the school year is to be able to read unpracticed passages of at least 77 correct words per minute in order to be on target for meeting the year-end benchmark goal of 110 or more correct words per minute.

• Organization wide, the median score of 3rd grade participants at the start of the program year was 67 words per minute, which is considered significantly below the expected goal of 77 wpm. At the time of post-testing performed in June 2011 the median score of 3rd grade participants was 104 words per minute, placing this group as a whole, near, yet slightly below the expected benchmark goal of 110 wpm. This growth represents an improvement of 37 words per minute or 55% in median score for the 3rd grade participants.

 As has been continuously demonstrated throughout the implementation of these programs, which first began in 2006, youth who were identified as struggling readers and at risk of not meeting their benchmark goals are progressing and demonstrating marked improvement.