Action Research Plan--Reading Together. Does It Really Work?

• Examining the work: Setting the Foundation – Because of the ever increasing demand on teachers and administrators to increase student performance as well as the fact that the majority of Texas schools did not meet AYP (my school included), my action research project will study the effectiveness of one of my school’s Tier 2 intervention programs, Reading Together.  Reading Together has been implemented after school to help struggling readers in 4^th grade become mentor readers helping second graders achieve a higher level of reading ability. Reading progress was also identified as an area of concern in our Campus Improvement Committee meeting. 
•    Analyzing data – I will need access to second and fourth grade students’ iStation assessment results from the beginning and ending of the program.  I will need to collaborate with our instructional specialists and other teachers who are in charge of implementation of the program.  I will need access to reliable educational research from sources such as AASA and NAESP on the expected reading growth of students in one year’s time.
• Developing deeper understanding – I will interview classroom teachers and collect other sources of reading assessment data such as Running Records for second grade students and district reading assessments (CScope reading assessments).
• Engaging in Self-Reflection – I will examine whether or not I may have any biases toward this Reading Together program.  I will also examine what this research can mean for my personal and professional growth as a reading teacher. 
• Exploring Programmatic Patterns – I will study teacher fidelity to the program.  For example, was the teacher’s attendance consistent?  I will also study student fidelity to the program.  For example, was the students’ attendance consistent?  Through interviews, I can ask students and teachers if they were fully vested in the program.  Finally, I will investigate if the student group was the same from the beginning of the program to the end of the program.
• Determining direction – I am clear on what I need to solve – “Does theTier II Reading Together program for second and fourth grade students make a significant difference in reading growth according to the iSation reading assessment than second and fourth grade students who are not in Reading Together program?”  I believe I have adequately addressed the skills and resources needed to pursue my action research project.  I will need access to second and fourth grade students’ iStation assessment results from the beginning and ending of the program.  I will need to collaborate with our instructional specialists and other teachers who are in charge of implementation of the program.I will need access to reliable educational research on the expected reading growth of students in one year’s time.  By working together with the instructional specialists, classroom teachers, Reading Together teachers, and site mentor, I have developed a collaborative plan for research.  As I work through my timelines, I will make adjustments as necessary.  I will evaluate the effectiveness of the Reading Together progress of second and fourth grade students by comparing the progress made to the recommended yearly progress according to experts in the field of education.
• Taking action for school improvement – After writing the summary of my report, I will take this information to my site administrator for recommendations.  If she approves of the information from my research, we will take the information to the campus improvement committee to determine what future actions we can take.  If Reading Together after school is proven to make a significant difference in the reading progress of fourth and second grade students, the committee can explore how we can implement the program on a larger scale.
• Sustaining improvement – I plan to share the data I receive with my district and on-line colleagues.  Finally, I could pursue questions for future research that may arise such as:  If Read Right does not provide adequate reading improvement, what other tools could be used to allow for student achievement?  If there is adequate progress, what can be done, using Read Right, to gain better results? Are there any other programs that are more effective that can be used by my campus that would promote greater learning?  How do the results from my campus compare with the district results?  What factors would cause differences in campus and district wide results?