Summary of Research Generated by Striving Readers on the Effectiveness of Interventions for Struggling Adolescent Readers

The Striving Readers program aimed to raise the literacy levels of middle and high school students reading below grade level and to build a strong research base on effective adolescent literacy interventions. This report summarizes the results of a systematic review of evaluations of the ten different interventions funded by the Striving Readers grant program in 2006 and 2009. Twelve of the 17 evaluations met What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards without reservations, three evaluations met WWC evidence standards with reservations, and two evaluations did not meet WWC evidence standards. Based on findings from the evaluations found to meet WWC evidence standards with or without reservations, four of the ten interventions funded by Striving Readers had positive, potentially positive, or mixed effects on reading achievement. Three of these four interventions had not previously been reviewed by the WWC.