Action Research Plan

·         Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation:

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?

The purpose is to determine the effectiveness of the Read Right program on my campus and identify any areas that may need to be modified or eliminated to increase student achievement. 

·         Activities designed to achieve the objectives

I will compare second and fourth grade Reading Together program participants with other second and fourth grade students who are receiving only in-class instruction. I will be able to determine which group has greater reading progress according to their beginning and ending iStation reading scores.  By identifying areas of effectiveness and weakness, changes can be made so that students’ fluency, vocabulary and comprehension will be strengthened.  It is my hope that the data of this research plan will drive instruction and be a catalyst for necessary change, i.e., that students who need help in reading will be placed in the correct program(s) and that in-class instruction will be modified if deemed necessary.

·         Resources and research tools needed for data gathering

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.

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?

·         Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities

December 2012:  Gather beginning of year iStation Reading assessment data including overall iStation reading ability index scores and number of students.  Begin collaboration with Reading Together teachers.

January through February 2012:  I will access reliable educational research on the expected reading growth of students in one year’s time.  I will monitor and gather monthly iStation results for all target groups.

March:  I will access number of students that began and completed the program.  I will gather the information from iStation reading results, and I will compare the two target groups’ scores to determine which group had the greatest growth.  Finally, I will make recommendations based on the data I gathered for changes or areas of improvement.

·         Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan

I will be the primary party responsible for implementation of the action research plan.  However, I will collaborate with Reading Together teachers, instructional specialists and my site mentor.

·         Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives

I plan to gather monthly iStation reading assessment results, I will monitor students attendance to ensure the students that are in the program completed the program with Fidelity.

·         Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study

I will use the results of iStation reading assessments.