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Early Intervention in Reading (EIR)® is a program designed to provide extra instruction to groups of students at risk of failing to learn to read. The program uses picture books to stress instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, and contextual analysis, along with repeated reading and writing. In grades K, 1, and 2, the program is based on whole-class instruction, with additional small group instruction provided to struggling readers. In grades 3 and 4, the program consists of small group instruction for 20 minutes, four days a week. Teachers are trained for nine months using workshops and an Internet-based professional development program.
One study of EIR® meets What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. That study included 12 teachers and 59 students in first grade from one Midwestern state.3
Based on this one study, the WWC considers the extent of evidence for EIR® to be small for alphabetics and comprehension. No studies that meet WWC evidence standards with or without reservations examined the effectiveness of EIR® in the fluency or general reading achievement domains.
EIR® was found to have potentially positive effects on alphabetics and comprehension.
| Alphabetics | Fluency | Comprehension | General reading achievement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | Potentially positive effects | na | Potentially positive effects | na |
| Improvement index4 | Average: +36 percentile points Range: +29 to +42 percentile points |
na | +18 percentile points | na |
| na = not applicable | ||||
|Institute of Education Sciences
