Literacy curricula and interventions
Strategy overview
Building a strong foundation: Evidence-based literacy curricula and interventions help students build the skills they need to read and write at grade level. Foundational skills, like basic writing, vocabulary, and reading fluency, are often the focus of early literacy, which is typically implemented between pre-kindergarten and third grade. As students get older, the focus shifts to reading comprehension, analysis, and exposure to complex ideas.
Learning to read: Literacy curricula and interventions for students in grades K-3 focus on building the skills they need to read fluently and with comprehension. Reading by the end of third grade marks a critical transition point in a child’s development: literacy skills are necessary for nearly all subjects in fourth grade and later. As a result, high-intensity interventions take on particular importance in a student’s earlier years. Many literacy interventions for younger students are delivered in small groups or one-on-one settings and may also emphasize parental engagement (i.e. reading with a child at home).
Reading to learn: As students advance to middle and high school, reading becomes a key skill for all types of learning. Literacy curricula and interventions, therefore, focus on exposing students to more complex ideas and themes (for instance, by assigning varied text types, like biographies, poetry, and fiction) and encouraging analysis. Evidence-based writing interventions, which are particularly common for high school students, help students apply their reading and analytical skills.
Selecting a curriculum to fit student, school needs: Evidence-based reading curricula vary significantly in terms of scope and scale. Some are core curricula, serving as the foundation for all literacy learning throughout the school year for an entire grade; others are short-term interventions, which can be delivered either grade-wide or for a subset of students. Curricula can also be supplemented with evidence-based practices that support literacy development, like small group classes and peer tutoring.
Training teachers: Many evidence-based curricula and interventions include significant training before the school year for the teachers who will deliver the model. Such training allows teachers to familiarize themselves with broader subject areas (i.e. grammar) and the specific model before engaging with students. This is often supplemented by periodic professional development workshops that help teachers make class- and student-specific adaptations as the school year progresses.
Accelerating student learning: An increasingly common approach to supplementing a core curriculum is through high-dosage tutoring programs, which provide intensive learning for individual students or small groups. High-dosage tutoring — which has proven effective for students of all ages and across content areas — is most impactful when integrated into the standard school day and delivered to the students who are most behind their classmates in academic progress.
Meta-analyses of rigorous studies of reading curricula and interventions found statistically significant, positive effects for students of different ages, English language learners, and students with disabilities.
A 2020 meta-analysis measuring the impact of reading interventions on students in grades 1-3 found a significant increase for a range of reading outcomes, particularly comprehension.
A 2020 meta-analysis of integrated literacy and content-area instruction in grades K-5 found positive, significant effects on vocabulary and reading comprehension.
A 2020 meta-analysis on language comprehension interventions for students in grades K-5 found significant positive effects on reading and listening comprehension; the effects also indicated positive outcomes for English language learners.
A 2017 meta-analysis and research synthesis of small group reading interventions for students with reading difficulties found significant positive effects for students of all ages in areas including vocabulary, reading comprehension, and phonics; effects were largest for elementary students.
A 2021 research synthesis found that high-dosage tutoring dramatically improved student performance in math and literacy, with students recovering between 3-15 months of learning and advancing an average of 16 percentile points on standardized tests.
Before making investments in literacy curricula and interventions, city and county leaders should ensure this strategy addresses local needs.
The Urban Institute and Mathematica have developed indicator frameworks to help local leaders assess conditions related to upward mobility, identify barriers, and guide investments to address these challenges. These indicator frameworks can serve as a starting point for self-assessment, not as a comprehensive evaluation, and should be complemented by other forms of local knowledge.
The Urban Institute's Upward Mobility Framework identifies a set of key local conditions that shape communities’ ability to advance upward mobility and racial equity. Local leaders can use the Upward Mobility Framework to better understand the factors that improve upward mobility and prioritize areas of focus. Data reports for cities and counties can be created here.
Several indicators in the Upward Mobility Framework may be improved with investments in high-quality literacy curricula and interventions. To measure these indicators and determine if investments in this strategy could help, examine the following:
- Effective public education: Average per-grade change in English Language Arts achievement between the third and eighth grades. These data are available from Stanford University’s Education Data Archive.
- Preparation for college: Share of 19- and 20-year-olds with a high school degree. These data are available from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
Mathematica's Education-to-Workforce (E-W) Indicator Framework helps local leaders identify the data that matter most in helping students and young adults succeed. Local leaders can use the E-W framework to better understand education and workforce conditions in their communities and to identify strategies that can improve outcomes in these areas.
Several indicators in the E-W Framework may be improved with investments in high-quality literacy curricula and interventions. To measure these indicators and determine if investments in this strategy could help, examine the following:
6th grade on track: Percentage of students in grade 6 with passing grades in English language arts and math, attendance of 90 percent or higher, and no in- or out-of-school suspensions or expulsions.
8th grade on track: Percentage of students in grade 8 with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, no Ds or Fs in English language arts or math, attendance of 96 percent or higher, and no in- or out-of-school suspensions or expulsions.
9th grade on track: Percentage of students in grade 9 with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, no Ds or Fs in English language arts or math, attendance of 96 percent or higher, and no in- or out-of-school suspensions or expulsions.
Math and reading proficiency in grade 3: Percentage of students in grade 3 who meet grade-level standards in reading/English language arts and math as measured by state standardized tests.
Math and reading proficiency in grade 8: Percentage of students in grade 8 who meet grade-level standards in reading/English language arts and math as measured by state standardized tests.
Math and reading proficiency in high school: Percentage of tested students who meet grade-level standards in reading/English language arts and math, as measured by state standardized tests.
Prioritize curricula with a strong teacher training component: Many curricula and related interventions provide robust training for teachers to deliver the model, along with ongoing professional development, and, in some cases, a credential. Ensuring that selected curricula have sufficient training programming and materials will better position teachers to effectively deliver the model with fidelity.
Incorporate relevant, culturally responsive themes: Many literacy curricula and interventions offer significant opportunities to expose students to new ideas through reading and writing. When identifying particular curricula and interventions for implementation, prioritize those that offer culturally relevant materials and lessons or provide a framework through which schools and teachers can adapt lessons to do so themselves.
Deliver the curriculum with a high degree of fidelity: Evidence-based curricula are often designed to be delivered under specific conditions; only certain programs are particularly adaptable to a range of implementation styles. Carefully evaluate student needs and ensure the curriculum can be delivered with fidelity, including frequency (i.e. daily), length (yearlong, quarterly, etc.), and scale (individual students, small groups, classwide).
Align curricula selection to student, school needs and state standards: With the proliferation of evidence-based reading curricula available, school districts have the opportunity to be highly selective. Prior to evaluating curricula, conduct a needs assessment to understand what types of features a curriculum should include, such as specialized programming for students with disabilities or English Language Learners. Curricula should also be scored against ESSA and any other relevant standards to ensure sufficient alignment.
Leverage high-dosage tutoring: For some students, evidence-based curricula should be supplemented with learning recovery programming and practices. To accelerate student learning in reading across all grade levels, launch a high-dosage tutoring program. Effective tutoring generally requires dedicated staff, who should have the capacity to tutor individuals or small groups of students at least three times per week; use of data management tools; and dedicated school time to align lessons and materials with classroom content and curricula.
Resources
Evidence-based examples
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Outcome Area |
This ranking reflects how these approaches are scored in one of the major government- or philanthropy-led clearinghouse resources. For more: https://catalog.results4americ... |
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Provides books to high-poverty elementary schools for students to read over three consecutive summers
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Elementary and middle school success |
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A classroom-based digital literacy program for children in prekindergarten through sixth grade.
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Kindergarten readiness Elementary and middle school success |
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Intensive learning for individual students or small groups to supplement school curriculum
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Elementary and middle school success High school graduation |
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Supplementary, small-group activity designed to help struggling readers reach grade-level competency
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Elementary and middle school success |
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Curriculum providing a sequence of phonics, reading, and spelling activities
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Elementary and middle school success |
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Peer tutoring program where students work in pairs on reading activities designed to improve reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension
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Elementary and middle school success |
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First-grade literacy intervention supplementing class instruction
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Elementary and middle school success |
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Phonics-based tutoring program for students grades K–3 with below-average reading skills
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Elementary and middle school success |
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Literacy program for struggling readers two or more years below grade level
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Elementary and middle school success |
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Supplemental curriculum designed for preschoolers and kindergarteners having trouble with reading
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Elementary and middle school success Kindergarten readiness |
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School-wide reform model integrating curriculum, school culture, family, and community supports
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Elementary and middle school success |
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