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Overview1
Success for All (SFA)® is a comprehensive school reform model that includes a reading, writing, and oral language development program for students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. Its underlying premise is that all children can and should be reading at grade level by the end of third grade and then remain at grade level thereafter. Classroom reading instruction is delivered in daily 90-minute blocks to students grouped by reading ability. Immediate intervention with tutors who are certified teachers is given each day to those students who are having difficulty reading at the same level as their classmates. A full-time SFA® facilitator employed by the school supports classroom instruction by training teachers, overseeing student assessments, and assisting with decisions about group placement and tutoring. Family Support Teams work on parent involvement, absenteeism, and student behavior.
This intervention report focuses on the reading instructional component of SFA®, which is often implemented in the context of the highly structured SFA® whole school reform program. Although the whole school reform program has key components that are implemented in each school, school sites may vary considerably in the number of personnel used to implement SFA®, particularly tutors and family support staff. The reading curricula are essentially the same at all schools, with each school receiving the same training, coaching support, and materials. Ratings presented in this report are not disaggregated by the variations in implementation of whole school reforms. Reading outcomes from all studies included in this report are examined together and formed the basis for a single effectiveness rating for each outcome domain.
Research
One study met the WWC evidence standards and six studies met WWC evidence standards with reservations. Altogether, the studies included nearly 6,000 students attending more than 90 elementary schools across the United States. The seven studies focused on students in grades K–3 who received the SFA® intervention for varying amounts of time. 2 The WWC considers the extent of evidence for SFA® to be medium to large for alphabetics, comprehension, and general reading achievement. No studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations addressed fluency.
Effectiveness
Success for All® was found to have potentially positive effects on alphabetics and general reading achievement and mixed effects on comprehension.
| Alphabetics | Fluency | Comprehension | General reading achievement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | Potentially positive effects | na | Mixed effects | Potentially positive effects |
| Improvement index3 | Average: +13 percentile points Range: 0 to +32 percentile points |
na | Average: +8 percentile points Range: 0 to +17 percentile points |
Average: +10 percentile points Range: +2 to +22 percentile points |
| na = not applicable | ||||
2 The evidence presented in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
3 These numbers show the average and range of improvement indices for all findings across the studies.
