Teacher Education

Reading Recovery

Reading Recovery® is a short-term intervention for first graders having extreme difficulty with early reading and writing. Specially trained teachers work individually with students in daily 30-minute lessons lasting 12 to 20 weeks. After a full series of lessons, about 75% of these formerly lowest students reach grade-level standard.

School districts select Reading Recovery teacher candidates who must be certified teachers with a record of successful teaching experience with young children. These teachers engage in a full academic year of professional development with graduate credit under the guidance of a registered Reading Recovery teacher leader.

For additional information about Reading Recovery:

Wright State University is a Reading Recovery training site.

For more information contact: 

Heather Good, Program Co-director and Teacher Leader
heather.good@wright.edu

Braedan Schantz, Program Co-director and Teacher Leader
braedan.schantz@wright.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is Reading Recovery?

    Reading Recovery is a highly effective short-term intervention of one-to-one tutoring for low-achieving first graders. The intervention is most effective when it is available to all students who need it and is used as a supplement to good classroom teaching.

  • Who do we serve?

    Reading Recovery serves the lowest-achieving first graders --- the students who are not catching on to the complex set of concepts that make reading and writing possible.

  • How is it done?

    Individual students receive a half-hour lesson each school day for 12 to 20 weeks with a specially trained Reading Recovery teacher. As soon as students can read within the average range of their class and demonstrate that they can continue to achieve, their lessons are discontinued, and new students begin individual instruction.

  • What are the outcomes?

    There are two positive outcomes for students:

    Over 15 years of Reading Recovery in North America, 82% of students who complete the full 12- to 20-week series of lessons, and 59% of all students who have any lessons in Reading Recovery, can read and write with the average range of performance of their class. Follow-up studies indicate that most Reading Recovery students also do well on standardized tests and maintain their gains in later years.
    The few students who are still having difficulty after a full series of lessons are referred for further evaluation. They may be candidates for longer-term programs.

    Professional Development

    Professional development is an essential part that includes teachers, teacher leaders, and university trainers. Professional development for teachers and teacher leaders begins with year-long graduate level study and is followed by ongoing training in succeeding years. In Reading Recovery, teachers develop observational skills and a repertoire of intervention strategies tailored to meet the individual needs of at-risk students.

    A History of Success

    Reading Recovery has a strong tradition of success with the hardest-to-teach children. Developed in New Zealand over 20 years ago, Reading Recovery now also operates in 49 states, the District of Columbia Department of Defense Dependents Schools, plus Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. In its 15-year history in the United States, Reading Recovery has served more than 700,000 students.

© Reading Recovery® Council of North America, Inc. Reprinted with permission.


Take the Next Step

Finding the right college means finding the right fit. See all that the College of Health, Education, and Human Services has to offer by visiting campus.