Rigby Literacy Comprehensive Reading Program Evaluated by McREL

June 1, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas — An independent research report released today by Harcourt Achieve, Inc. indicates that second- and fourth-grade students using Rigby Literacy for the first time showed strong gains in their reading performance. The independent study was conducted by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of the Rigby Literacy program on student performance in reading during the 2003-2004 school year.

In an effort to meet the criteria put forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) for investigating education programs within a scientific research paradigm, the McREL evaluation was carried out through a large-scale, multi-site research study that was carefully and rigorously designed to result in the best possible evidence regarding program effectiveness.

McREL's Vice President of Research and Evaluation Zoe Barley said, "the choice of urban schools presented a real test as the schools had at least 80% of students on free and reduced price lunch and were made up of 85% minority students. Teachers who participated had not previously used the Rigby Literacy program, another relevant characteristic for the study. Teachers appreciated the concrete, coherent, and integrated foundation Rigby Literacy provided for implementing a balanced approach to literacy instruction." Control teachers used their familiar and usual reading approach and were able to use whatever amount of time they chose while Rigby Literacy teachers were held to a set period of time.

The McREL report documents the impact the Rigby Literacy program had on reading achievement scores for second- and fourth-grade students who took the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test (GMRT-4) after the yearlong implementation of Rigby Literacy.

Additionally, when compared to the national normative samples, the treatment group scored much higher on the GMRT-4 posttest than would have been expected. Together these findings indicate that Rigby Literacy was effective at increasing student achievement in reading. The overall results of this study indicate that Rigby Literacy students in their first year of the program did as well as students in the control group that used reading programs that were mature in terms of their implementation.

"When we created Rigby Literacy we listened to educators who told us they wanted effective alternatives to basal reading programs that addressed the comprehensive nature of successful reading programs and motivated students to develop a love of reading," said Tim McEwen, President of Harcourt Achieve. "The McREL study has confirmed that we have given teachers the powerful reading program they asked us to create." Copies of the McREL report are available at: http://www.harcourtachieve.com/Pages/articles/RL_summary_research_web.pdf For more information on Rigby Literacy please visit http://www.harcourtachieve.com

McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Aurora, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. Its staff of highly respected educators and researchers focuses on providing educators and policymakers with the highest quality, field-tested, research-based products and services available in Pre-K–16 education.