Reading and Literacy
At a Glance | Services | Significant Work | Products
Examples of Significant Work
Bright Futures Early Reading First Project: In partnership with the Madison Parish Public Schools and the Delta Community Action Association-Tallulah Head Start, SEDL is participating in the Bright Futures Early Reading First project to improve the school readiness of 250 low-income preschoolers in Tallulah, Louisiana. SEDL staff are helping to increase parental involvement in children's language development and providing training on research-based literacy instruction for young children. In addition, SEDL researchers are conducting a quasi-experimental study to evaluate the project.
New Mexico Rural Partnership for Technology: In a subcontract with the Magdalena Municipal School District in New Mexico, SEDL is helping elementary language arts teachers use technology to improve students' literacy skills and knowledge of traditional Navajo culture. The project focuses on four rural school districts. SEDL staff are using technology to link the schools, providing technical assistance and professional development to help teachers integrate technology into literacy instruction, and providing parental-involvement activities that support the use of technology at home.
Open Court Reading Program: Imagine It! Randomized Controlled Trial: SEDL is conducting a national research study assessing the effectiveness of SRA/McGraw-Hill’s Imagine It! reading and language arts program in elementary school classrooms. In partnership with other nationally recognized researchers, SEDL staff will study the effectiveness of Imagine It! in 12 districts and 48 schools, encompassing approximately 200 classrooms and more than 5,000 students. The study will use a multisite cluster randomized trial design to determine whether Imagine It! affects reading outcomes for K–5 students and how any outcomes vary.
Bernalillo School District: Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle: SEDL is working with a Bernalillo, New Mexico, middle school to help them use the Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle (PTLC) to incorporate literacy strategies into instruction in mathematics, reading, science, and social studies. The PTLC is an intensive, job-embedded approach to strengthening teacher quality. SEDL staff are working with faculty and administrators to help them align curriculum, instruction, assessments, and state standards with the goal of increasing student achievement.
Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC): Response to Intervention: The SECC works with the state departments of education of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina to build their capacity to improve student achievement. As part of this work, SECC staff are helping educators implement Response to Intervention (RtI). The SECC has sponsored two regional forums on RtI and also is working intensively with Alabama and Mississippi to use RtI as a school improvement framework.
Past Work
National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) K–3 Literary Resources Dissemination Evaluation: SEDL conducted an internal evaluation of the NIFL literacy resources being distributed nationally to teachers and families of K–3 students, with a focus on students from families with low literacy skills. The multiyear internal evaluation assessed both the perceived usefulness, relevance, and quality of the materials provided and the distribution channels used.
Louisiana Recovery School District (2007–2008): To support the Louisiana Recovery School District, established to turn around underperforming schools in New Orleans, SEDL developed and held training sessions on literacy and provided on-site assistance. In addition, SEDL researchers conducted an evaluation of the training and assistance initiatives and documented the outcomes.
Reading First Program (2003–2007): SEDL supported the U.S. Department of Education’s Reading First program, which puts proven methods of early reading instruction in classrooms, by developing and maintaining the Reading First Awards Database and publishing the program’s newsletter, Reading First Notebook.
Reading Assessment Database (1996–1999): SEDL developed this online database, which enables teachers to search for preK–3 reading assessments that test the 14 reading skills outlined in the Cognitive Foundations of Learning to Read: A Framework, as part of the Reading Coherence Initiative. This initiative was, in turn, part of the Program for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, funded under SEDL’s 1996–1999 Regional Educational Laboratory contract.
Regional Educational Laboratory (1996–1999, 2000–2006): SEDL’s REL contracts included working intensively with 60 sites across the Southwest to assess student reading abilities and improve students’ reading comprehension. We also modeled instructional strategies and provided resources for educators.
Bilingual Education Multifunctional Resource Center (1986–1996): SEDL operated this regional Multifunctional Resource Center, which provided training, technical assistance, and materials to help implement and improve programs for students with limited English proficiency. In 1996, the Multifunctional Resource Center was incorporated into the broader Southeast Comprehensive Assistance Center (CAC), which provided support for reading instruction and English language learners—work SEDL continues today through the Southeast and Texas comprehensive centers.
Teaching Reading to Bilingual Children Longitudinal Research Study (1979): This study tracked more than 300 bilingual children in more than 20 schools in five Texas school districts from kindergarten through the third or fourth grade. At the time, the study was one of the nation’s most comprehensive and extensive studies of bilingual students.
Follow Through: Language Development Approach Program (1969–1995): SEDL’s Follow Through program provided comprehensive instructional support to improve the academic success of younger children with limited English proficiency.