89% of Students Reach Benchmarks in Foundational Reading Skills
Wilmington, Delaware – It’s been another exciting year at Reading Assist, with almost 1,200 students served across three high-dosage tutoring programs.
Reading Assist is proud to share its student performance results for the 2022-23 year, which includes data from its school-year, summer, and after-school programs.
Based on assessments of 470 students in kindergarten to third grade who received at least a month of tutoring from Reading Assist during the academic year, 89% reached benchmarks in at least one early foundational reading skill. That compares with 70% of students reaching benchmarks during the 2021-22 school year, signaling the effects of stronger attendance and in-person learning following pandemic disruptions.
Reading Assist also helped these young readers accelerate their learning, with students outpacing expectations for growth in some measures by a factor of 7, representing 17 months of learning gained during the 9 ½-month school year. Further, during Reading Assist’s third year of summer programming, which wrapped up earlier this month, 87% of students served showed improvement after just four weeks of tutoring.
These results underscore the positive impact of high-dosage tutoring – one-on-one tutoring delivered three or more days a week – for struggling young readers.
“Our students exceeded our expectations this year with their reading growth,” said Reading Assist CEO Caroline O’Neal. “We’re so excited about their progress. As we add more students and expand our reach, our program continues to yield strong gains among struggling readers, which is a real testament to the effectiveness of high-dosage tutoring.”
The effectiveness of Reading Assist’s program earned national recognition from AmeriCorps earlier this year, when it was awarded a national direct grant. This grant has enabled Reading Assist to enlist more AmeriCorps members to deliver its accredited reading program across Delaware and expand outside the state for the first time to Chester, PA.
As Reading Assist expands its geographic reach, it is also expanding its programming. Following a spring 2022 pilot, Reading Assist rolled out an after-school program to 10 sites during the 2022-23 school year. Tutors supported 114 students in after-school programs; of the 99 who received 10 or more days of after-school tutoring, up to 80% reached benchmarks in early foundational reading skills.
Reading Assist has also grown its partnership with the Delaware Department of Education to deliver its high-dosage tutoring program to more students across the state. This fall, as part of a highly selective grant program from Accelerate, Reading Assist will serve an additional 280 students in district and charter schools with high need for literacy support.
“We look forward to further strengthening our partnership with the Delaware DOE through the Accelerate program this fall,” O’Neal said. “Delaware’s state leaders have taken important steps to address the literacy gap, and we are proud to play an integral role in those plans to improve literacy rates.”
For children with significant reading struggles, early intervention and intensive reading support are key components to their success. High-dosage tutoring has been found to be one of the most effective interventions for fostering reading growth in all students, particularly in low-income students and students of color, two of Reading Assist’s priority student populations.
For more detailed data on Reading Assist student performance from the 2023-24 academic year, visit https://readingassist.org/results.
About Reading Assist
Reading Assist is a nonprofit organization that provides year-round high-dosage tutoring services to at-risk children across Delaware with the most significant reading challenges. Since its inception, Reading Assist has helped thousands of readers across Delaware acquire critical reading skills over the course of one academic year, changing the trajectory of these learners’ lives. To help students reach reading proficiency, Reading Assist recruits and trains AmeriCorps members – known as Reading Assist Fellows – to deliver its accredited reading program to students in high needs schools.
To learn more about Reading Assist, including how to get tutors to serve in your school or to serve as a tutor, visit our website at www.readingassist.org or contact us at 302-425-4080.
