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Evaluation of Reading Rescue Program

Client: The Literacy Trust, Inc.
Term: September 2002–August 2003

As of 1999, 53 elementary schools from Florida, New York, and Iowa were using Reading Rescue, a one-to-one tutoring program designed to improve the abilities of struggling readers. The evaluation of the Reading Rescue program was conducted in correlation with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires schools to adopt educational programs that have been proven effective through scientific research. Our evaluation sought to show whether participation in the program results in improved reading abilities for participants through a randomized pre-test/post-test control group design.

The study of Reading Rescue was conducted in grades 1-3 in seven New York City schools. Many of the participants were bilingual and/or came from a low socio-economic urban environment. Results contribute to our understanding of how this tutoring program works in an urban environment with bilingual students and makes a significant contribution toward helping New York City schools adopt programs that have evidence of effectively improving students' reading skills.