Reading Plus Frequently Asked Questions

How does Reading Plus align with the objectives of the Common Core State Standards? ­ Page 1

How does Reading Plus provide direct instruction to students? ­ Page 1­ 2

How does Reading Plus ensure that instructional texts have appropriate levels of qualitative and quantitative text complexity? ­ Page 2­3

How does Reading Plus build students' background knowledge in topics related to Social Science, STEM, and global

literature? ­ Page 3

How do Reading Plus text selections help to develop and improve students' ability to examine, analyze, and synthesize texts in a deep and meaningful way? ­ Page 3

How does Reading Plus develop a student's ability to answer rigorous, text­dependent questions? ­ Page 4

How does Reading Plus develop a student's ability to produce well­crafted evidence­based writing? ­ Page 4­5

How does Reading Plus build students' word knowledge and ensure mastery of critical academic vocabulary? ­ Page 5

How does Reading Plus ensure that each student receives an individualized instructional path? ­ Page 5­6

How does Reading Plus support classroom curricular goals and build students' appreciation for reading? ­ Page 6

How does Reading Plus determine the appropriate mix of informational and literary texts for each grade level? Page 6­7

What are the constructed­response tasks in Reading Plus? ­Page 7

How does Reading Plus address instructional expectations, and ensure ease­of­use? ­ Page 7­8

How do Reading Plus texts cultivate student engagement, interest, and respect for reading and writing? ­ Page 8­9

How does Reading Plus address the needs of students who are reading well below grade level? ­Page 9

How does Reading Plus facilitate communication between teacher and student? ­ Page 9­10

How can students apply what they learn in Reading Plus to other academic activities? ­ Page 10­11

How does Reading Plus provide appropriate levels and types of scaffolding, differentiation, and intervention for a broad

range of learners? ­Page 11­12

How does Reading Plus help students become independent readers? ­Page 12

How do Reading Plus comprehension tasks specifically align with Common Core anchor standards? ­Page 13

What kind of comprehension tasks do students encounter in Reading Plus? ­Page 14

How does Reading Plus assess student proficiency? ­ Page 14

How can teachers track and assess students' performance in Reading Plus? ­Page 15

What formative and summative assessments are in Reading Plus? ­Page 15

How does Reading Plus measure a student's fluency challenges and strengths? ­Page 15­16

What is the research basis for the Reading Plus program?­ Page 16,17,18

How does Reading Plus align with the objectives of the Common Core State

Standards? The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) require students to be able to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Developing independent silent readers has been the mission of Reading Plus for decades. We’ve created a program that develops reading capacity, efficiency, and motivation — the foundation of college and career success. The Reading Plus program provides an extensive library of engaging cross­curricular informational and literary selections. The content supports classroom learning goals for science, social studies, and literature by contributing to the knowledge development in these areas of core curriculum. Content is evaluated regularly to ensure topics remain relevant and resonate with readers, and expand students’ knowledge about the world around them. As students advance through the program and demonstrate mastery, the selections presented will have richer academic vocabulary, higher word counts, and deeper examinations of topics and themes. Selections transition from a 50/50 ratio of literary­to­informational texts on the lowest levels of the program to a 30/70 ratio at the program’s upper end. All selections are written to meet grade­appropriate readability and text complexity recommendations. Instructional texts in Reading Plus address a broad range of topics in science, technology, engineering, and math, as well as social science topics of civics, economics, geography, U.S. and world history, global studies, and the arts, among others. Literary works include classic short stories; excerpts from longer classic works; myths, legends, fables, and fairy tales from global cultures; contemporary fiction; authentic documents; transcripts from speeches; and journal/diary entries.

How does Reading Plus provide direct instruction to students? The Reading Plus program provides systematic, targeted instruction in reading following a gradual release of responsibility model of instruction. The program automates the tracking and recording of individual students' competence with more than 20 discrete comprehension skills that are fully aligned with the anchor standards of the Common Core. The program frees teachers from cumbersome, time­consuming data management tasks. A Class Skill Group Report identifies and groups students who are struggling with one or more specific comprehension subskills. Report data is organized to facilitate a quick scan of the performance of all students, while still providing detailed formative data on individual student needs. Teachers can quickly determine which students in the class share skill deficiencies, allowing for informed decisions about differentiated instruction.

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The Skills Coach component of Reading Plus delivers turnkey, animated online reading instruction that is customized for basic and intermediate skills abilities. These lessons, created under the direction of leading literacy expert P. David Pearson, Ph.D., use the gradual release of responsibility model ("me, we, you"). Skills Coach lessons start with targeted instruction about a specific reading skill and gradually release students to hands­on practice with the skill. Each custom lesson in Skills Coach includes an animated overview of one of the nine Common Core anchor reading skills. The overviews are followed by in­depth animated tutorials that provide explicit instruction followed by guided practice with the specific comprehension subskills associated with the anchor skill. Each tutorial is followed by interactive hands­on student practice. Additional practice with each reading skill is available through carefully crafted downloadable Offline Comprehension Skill Sheets. Skills Coach provides direct instruction that is structured, focused on outcomes, and built around student and teacher interaction that can take place one­on­one, in small group or whole group settings, or can be used by students with minimal teacher support. Teachers can easily adapt Skills Coach lessons to meet classroom objectives and individual needs. For example, teachers may opt to do a whole group lesson by having the entire class view the Skills Coach video lesson on a Smart Board (opting to use the built­in audio narration, or guiding the lesson on his or her own), or leading a small­group lesson with Skills Coach as the focus. Or, a teacher may have an individual student watch the video tutorial for a self­guided exercise. The flexibility of the Skill Coach design allows teachers to pivot instruction to best suit the needs of the class and all its students.

How does Reading Plus ensure that instructional texts have appropriate levels of qualitative and quantitative text complexity? Reading Plus provides an extensive library of engaging, cross­curricular informational and literary selections that adhere to Common Core recommendations for grade­appropriate Lexile® metrics. More importantly, Reading Plus texts are specifically crafted to provide grade­appropriate vocabulary complexity. Numerous research studies have demonstrated that vocabulary knowledge is the best predictor of comprehension. Students who have strong vocabulary skills are better able to unlock meaning from complex texts. To ensure students are empowered with a broad and deep vocabulary knowledge, Reading Plus texts provide students with extensive engagement with critical academic vocabulary. As students advance through the program, they encounter selections that have ever­increasing levels of semantic and syntactic complexity. These instructional texts address a broad range of topics, genres, and curricula. The wide variety of selections ensures students are exposed to an array of writing styles, levels of conceptual difficulty, and areas of personal interest. In addition to using quantitative measures to assess text complexity, every Reading Plus selection is assessed by a team of experts for qualitative difficulty. Assigning qualitative metrics

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to selections allows for fine­tuning of the text­leveling process. The four areas of qualitative review include: Level of Meaning or Purpose, Structure, Use of Language, and Knowledge Demand.

How does Reading Plus build students' background knowledge in topics

related to Social Science, STEM, and global literature? In addition to presenting students with a wide range of texts, every selection in the Reading Plus content library is crafted to help students discover that reading is the foundation of a fulfilling and purposeful life. These texts are crafted to help students discover that reading is the primary mechanism for expanding knowledge about the world. Reading Plus selections guide students toward self­discovery, self­respect, and self­actualization. Students encounter selections in the program that address: science, technology, engineering, and math, as well as social science topics of civics, economics, geography, U.S. and world history, global studies, and the arts, among others. Literary works in the program, which represent fiction from around the world, include classic short stories; excerpts from longer classic works; myths, legends, fables, and fairy tales from global cultures; contemporary fiction; authentic documents; transcripts from speeches; and journal/diary entries.

How do Reading Plus text selections help to develop and improve students'

ability to examine, analyze, and synthesize texts in a deep and meaningful

way?

Rigorous, text­dependent comprehension questions follow each reading selection to monitor comprehension and assess a student’s ability to use higher­order thinking skills. As students advance through the program, these selected­response comprehension questions become increasingly complex, testing higher­level reading skills. These questions test student mastery of skills related to core reading, craft and structure, and critical analysis. Comprehension questions are based on more than 20 reading sub­skills, which are aligned with national standards for college and career readiness. Students receive immediate feedback regarding correct or incorrect responses. Students also have the option to reread the relevant portion of the text before answering the question if they are uncertain of the correct response. Teachers receive a report of student deficiencies in particular skills and have the ability to work with students on strengthening their abilities through Skills Coach and use of offline skill­building activities.

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How does Reading Plus develop a student's ability to answer rigorous,

text­dependent questions?

The overwhelming majority of comprehension questions in the Reading Plus program are text specific and draw student attention to the particulars in the text. Every Reading Plus selection is followed by rigorous, grade­appropriate selected response tasks as well as an evidence­based constructed response writing prompt. These are meaningful tasks that assess a student’s deep understanding of the text that has been read. Questions are answerable only if the student has read and understood the text, and are written using vocabulary and complexity that are on the same level as the texts themselves. Distractors are carefully crafted to match the length, complexity, and tone of correct answers. Reading Plus selected­response tasks are presented in nine formats that mirror the kinds of tasks that students encounter in PARCC, Smarter Balanced, and other state and national assessments. Question formats in the program include: Selected Response, Drag and Drop, Multiple Select, Text Selection/Highlighting, Constructed Response, Multiple­Part Questions (A/B construction). Every comprehension question is written to test a student’s ability with one of more than 20 critical reading skills. These skills are organized into Core Skills (explicit and implicit details, Main Idea, basic understanding of text), Craft Skills (author’s craft, word in context, understanding the language and structure of a text), and Critical Skills (higher level thinking skills, deep understanding of text that includes integrating and synthesizing information, reasoning and rhetoric).

How does Reading Plus develop a student's ability to produce well­crafted

evidence­based writing?

The constructed­response tasks that follow each reading selection (and are unique to the selection) involve evidence­based writing that requires students to connect information from the text with prior knowledge, additional research, or a combination of the two. Students must read and understand the text to be able to correctly respond to these tasks. Students complete their writing assignments within the Reading Plus interface, creating a seamless transition between reading and writing. The integrated writing tool lets students reread selections closely and critically and use word processing tools to produce and edit their writing. Electronic comment threads between the teacher and student can help students learn how to incorporate feedback into their writing.

a. Expository prompts require students to use information gathered from reading selections and from their own prior knowledge to inform their audience through writing.

b. Narrative and opinion prompts ask students to draw upon their experiences, creativity, and imagination as well as extract evidence and support from the reading selection.

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c. Evidence­based prompts ask students to form an argument or hypothesis and substantiate their positions with prior knowledge and relevant evidence from the text.

How does Reading Plus build students' word knowledge and ensure mastery of

critical academic vocabulary? As students advance in the Reading Plus program, they are exposed repeatedly to an ever­increasing list of general academic vocabulary that helps them unlock meaning in complex texts across curriculum domains. For students who require support, the program provides personalized scaffolds that help students engage with challenging texts rather than avoid them. Students are introduced to new words in the Reading Plus vocabulary program, engage with and master them in the vocabulary program, and encounter them in instructional texts. Reading Plus introduces new vocabulary using explanations of word meaning and contextually rich sentences. The program offers repeated exposure to newly learned words, which develops automaticity and increases fluency with vocabulary. As students learn each word, they also develop contextual analysis skills that help them unlock the meaning of other unfamiliar words. The use of images for concrete words (as well as Spanish audio cues for EL students) supports the mastery of words that are difficult to learn using only contextual clues. Words are repeated within and across reading selections, in a variety of contexts, to ensure word mastery. Additionally, word­in­use activities provide students with exposure to word families. Learning words from rich morphological families serves as a knowledge multiplier. For example, a student who learns and masters a word, such as estimate, is empowered to read and understand estimates, estimated, and estimation. One word learned becomes many words known.

How does Reading Plus ensure that each student receives an individualized instructional path?

Reading Plus begins with an assessment of each student's reading ability, and uses that data to develop an individualized path of instruction. Students are continually and closely monitored by the program as they work in the iBalance, SeeReader, and ReadAround components, and adjustments in instruction and tasks are made automatically to meet the student's changing needs. If the program determines that a student is struggling with a particular task, teachers are alerted through various reporting mechanisms, and remediation strategies are recommended. For example, a student who demonstrates weaknesses with a specific reading comprehension skill in the SeeReader program will be flagged by the program as being in need of direct instruction. A teacher can opt to provide that direct instruction through the program's Skills Coach online tutorials and lessons, or by using offline skill remediation resources.

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To advance in Reading Plus, students must achieve specific, individualized goals at each level of each program in each component.

How does Reading Plus support classroom curricular goals and build students'

appreciation for reading? Every selection in the Reading Plus content library is crafted specifically for the program by a diverse team of authors with years of experience in their respective fields. All selections provide rich educational content that deepens knowledge on familiar topics or introduces students to new topics. Students select texts through eight high­interest filters, giving them choice and control over reading experiences. In addition, students learn how their own areas of interest link to curriculum, which builds an appreciation for the value of reading and lays the groundwork for intrinsic motivation. Reading Plus content supports the curricular goals of science, social studies, and literature teachers by contributing to the knowledge development in these areas of core curriculum. Selections are grouped into reading categories that directly align with STEM, Social Science, and Arts and Culture content:

Science: Life Science, Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Social Science: Civics, Economics, Geography, History Arts and Culture: Literature, Visual and Performing Arts, Popular Culture, Sports

Literary works in the program include: classic short stories, excerpts from longer classic works, myths, legends, and fairy tales from global cultures, contemporary fiction, authentic documents, transcripts from speeches, and journal/diary entries. Students engage with texts presenting a wide range of opinions, views, and perspectives to encourage the development of critical reading skills, such as Determining Point of View, Recognizing Author’s Purpose, and Judging Validity. In addition to presenting students with a wide range of texts, every selection in the Reading Plus content library is crafted to help students realize that reading is the foundation of a fulfilling and purposeful life. These texts are crafted to help students discover that reading is the primary mechanism for expanding knowledge.

How does Reading Plus determine the appropriate mix of informational and

literary texts for each grade level?

Reading Plus supports the curricular goals of social studies, STEM, and literature teachers by contributing to knowledge development in these academic areas. Reading Plus enhances student learning in each of these disciplines by providing content that complements core concepts and topics. An array of content across readability levels from grade 3 through college level is available to Reading Plus users. Students self­select informational and literary texts from eight high­interest categories.

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For Social Studies learning, Reading Plus provides selections that support the recommendations of C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards. Topics include, but are not limited to: Civics (U.S. and non­U.S. government systems, citizenship), Economics (concepts in macro and micro economics, allocation of resources), Geography (environments and culture, human­environment interaction), and History (ancient through modern cultures, U.S. and non­U.S. perspectives). For STEM learning, Reading Plus provides selections that support the recommendations of Next Generation Science Standards. Topics include, but are not limited to Life Science, Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, as well as Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science. For literary learning, Reading Plus provides selections that support knowledge acquisition from ­­ and exposure to ­­ global cultures. Selections include, but are not limited to, classic short stories, excerpts from longer works, contemporary fiction, myths, legends, and fables. In addition, students have opportunities to read authentic documents such as diary excerpts, speech transcripts, and historic documents, which provide a literary window into U.S. and non­U.S history and culture. To supplement extensive learning opportunities in core curriculum, Reading Plus presents students with reading selections to acquire knowledge and appreciation of Visual and Performing Arts, Sports, and Popular Culture, all from a global perspective.

What are the constructed­response tasks in Reading Plus?

The constructed­response tasks that follow each reading selection (and are unique to the selection) are evidence­based writing that requires students to connect information from the text with prior knowledge, additional research, or a combination of the two. Students must read and understand the text to be able to correctly respond to these tasks. These questions are designed to test a student’s deep understanding of the text, as well as his or her ability to use external sources to write cohesive responses. For example, students may be asked to provide a point­of­view essay using examples from the text, to formulate hypotheses that are supported by evidence in the text, or to refute claims in a text with cited evidence from external research sources.

How does Reading Plus address instructional expectations, and ensure ease­of­use?

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Educators utilize Reading Plus when they need a Common­Core­aligned solution that supports students in developing silent reading fluency, expanding general academic vocabulary, and strengthening the ability to read and comprehend increasingly complex texts. The program delivers a personalized, integrated instructional experience that appropriately matches reader and task. This supports each student in developing as an independent, capable reader with the ability to read complex text closely and critically. Teachers require little training to start and use Reading Plus successfully. During Initial Teacher Training (~1 hour), teachers learn how each component Reading Plus program serves to support students’ reading development. In addition, teachers learn how to utilize their Teacher Dashboard as an efficient and reliable Reading Plus “assistant” that keeps them fully informed about each student’s progress and fidelity of use. Teachers are alerted if any students need special attention, and they are prompted to support those students appropriately with clear information as well as supplemental within­system resources. During Follow­Up Teacher Training (~1 hour), teachers have the opportunity to go deeper with the robust Reading Plus reporting system, learning how to interpret data on various reports, as well as how to utilize actionable data to inform additional instruction for individual students, small groups, and the whole class.

How do Reading Plus texts cultivate student engagement, interest, and respect

for reading and writing?

Reading Plus texts do more than simply teach reading; they are crafted to teach students about themselves, their communities, and the world around them. Every selection in the program is thoughtfully and carefully constructed to widen students’ appreciation and respect for the people, places, ideas, and accomplishments of the global community. Students self­select texts through eight interest filters that provide choice and control over reading material. A student who is passionate about sports, for example, can filter selections by the Get in the Game category. Within that category, the student will find a wide variety of text genres from global sources that support learning in a range of academic areas. While working in the Reading Plus program, students discover that reading about topics that interest them can support the acquisition of knowledge in curriculum areas of STEM, social science, and literature. The program not only improves a student’s reading ability, but also generates an appreciation for the purpose and value of reading. Each selection is accompanied by lush photographic images that enhance the learning experience, as well as reading scaffolds that support student success. Scaffolds provide extra assistance to those students who need it. For example, texts may be segmented into smaller reading units, and rereads with clues are available during comprehension tasks. Reading Plus provides five levels of high­interest, low­readability selections that are available to students in grades six and higher who are reading on a first­grade through fifth­grade level. This content provides older struggling readers with age­appropriate, engaging selections that have suitable text complexity for their current abilities.

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Reading Plus automatically adjusts texts and related activities to each individual student’s needs and ongoing performance. The program’s initial assessment establishes a student’s reading level and rate. The resulting data are used to place each student at an appropriate level in the program, and calculate an initial rate for use in the SeeReader program. The student’s progress is monitored continuously to ensure optimal matching of reader and task.

How does Reading Plus address the needs of students who are reading below

grade level?

Reading Plus provides essential structure to both modeled and independent silent reading by scaffolding content, rate, repetition intensity, and lesson formats. These personalized and dynamically adjusting scaffolds help students successfully comprehend and gain knowledge from complex texts while encouraging student independence. Students build independent reading skills and confidence that prepare them for high­stakes tests, academic success, and challenges beyond secondary school. The program’s Guided Window changes the way students take in text while reading by gradually increasing comprehension­based silent reading rates. As students develop and automate reading efficiency and fluency, they are able to focus their efforts on comprehension and gaining knowledge rather than on the process of reading, making reading more productive. Reading selections are presented in shorter segments until students demonstrate the stamina, attention, and reading rate required to progress to more extended reading. “Engagement Builders” appear between text segments to provide additional scaffolding for students. These Engagement Builders complement the dynamic presentation of text by providing engaging images with brief, value­added text that offer additional insight, quotes, and facts on the selected topic.

How does Reading Plus facilitate communication between teacher and

student?

After completing each reading selection, students are presented with a writing prompt that links information from the selection with the student’s own knowledge base. Prompts are either expository, narrative, or evidence based. Students who are given an opportunity to share what they’ve learned through writing, learn to read with the purpose of gaining knowledge. Teachers can access students’ writing anytime from within the teacher dashboard. From the dashboard a teacher can see students’ recent edits to their work, graded assignments, and assignments that have been submitted for review. Teachers can click on any assignment to review a student’s writing. Once a teacher opens a student’s writing assignment, the teacher can review the reading selection and prompt, read and provide comments directly to the students. Electronic comment

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threads between teacher and student help students learn how to incorporate feedback into their writing.

How can students apply what they learn in Reading Plus to other academic

activities?

As students work in Reading Plus, they deepen their ability to comprehend and critically analyze complex text. Students have the ability to apply this learning through various additional activities within the classroom setting. As students work in Reading Plus to develop silent reading fluency, expand vocabulary, and strengthen comprehension skill, they have the ability to apply that learning when approaching other texts outside of the program. The Reading Plus Writing component automatically provides students with Common Core aligned constructed­response prompts. These evidence­based writing prompts are related to the texts students have read within the Reading Plus program. This constructed­response task gives students an opportunity to demonstrate deeper comprehension of the texts they have read, and it simultaneously offers them practice producing expository essays, arguments, and narratives­­students can even produce and share their writing electronically, within the Reading Plus system. Teachers can easily extend upon this aspect of the Reading Plus experience by creating additional, related writing and speaking and listening activities within the classroom. The Reading Plus Teaching Tools library (available to all Reading Plus educators) makes available to teachers an array of graphic organizers to support students in their writing process. In addition, teachers may choose to utilize grade­appropriate skill­based writing prompts to give students additional opportunities to demonstrate and further strengthen their writing skills. Some teachers choose to facilitate related classroom discussion or pair­and­share activities in order to provide opportunities for students to develop speaking and listening skills while they apply literacy skills they are strengthening in Reading Plus.

How does Reading Plus provide appropriate levels and types of scaffolding, differentiation, and intervention for a broad range of learners? Reading Plus automatically adjusts texts and related activities to each individual student’s needs and ongoing performance. The program’s initial assessment establishes a student’s reading level and rate. The resulting data are used to place each student at an appropriate level in the program, and calculate an initial rate for use in the SeeReader program. The student’s progress is monitored continuously to ensure optimal matching of reader and task. The program offers 18 levels of reading selections, including five levels crafted specifically for older students reading far below grade targets. While these five levels have very low readability, they are high interest and offer older students an array of topics and themes suitable for their age group.

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Students self­select content, which may be presented in independent or guided formats depending on student needs. In the latter, the students read text through a window that moves from left to right and down a body of text at their individualized practice pace. Within individualized reading, the students can adjust this pace up or down. An assortment of instructional supports is available to facilitate student success on their current level; e.g., opportunities to reread segments of text before answering questions, or to make a second choice, as appropriate. When students reliably demonstrate competence on a level, they automatically move up to the next level where a new assortment of reading content (which is incrementally more complex) is available. Because instruction is highly differentiated, performance reports are carefully designed to inform educators regarding the progress of each student in relation to individual and class­wide goals and objectives. In addition, Reading Plus provides essential structure to (and support for) both modeled and independent silent reading by scaffolding content difficulty, rate of presentation and text format, repetition intensity, stamina requirements, and lesson formats. These personalized and dynamically adjusting scaffolds help students successfully comprehend and gain knowledge from complex texts while encouraging student independence. Administrator and teacher “dashboards” enable close monitoring of student program use and progress, including summary data reports on the student, classroom, school, and district level. Summary data include each student’s lessons completed, and current reading comprehension level, vocabulary level, and comprehension­based reading rate (words/minute). This makes it simple to track fidelity of use and rates of improvement (e.g., for RTI documentation). The dashboard also alerts teachers when a student is struggling, has earned performance awards, or has submitted writing assignments. There is also an embedded texting system to facilitate teacher­student communications. A series of reports are available from the dashboard that enable student and classroom tracking on multiple levels.

How does Reading Plus help students become independent readers?

Students self­select content, which may be presented in independent or guided formats depending on student needs. In the latter, the student reads text through the Guided Window that moves from left to right and down a body of text at their individualized practice pace. The Guided Window gradually increases comprehension­based silent reading rates. As students develop and automate reading efficiency and fluency, they are able to focus efforts on comprehension and gaining knowledge, rather than on the process of reading. Within individualized reading, the student can adjust this pace up or down. An assortment of instructional supports is available to facilitate student success on their current level; e.g., opportunities to reread segments of text before answering questions, or to make a second choice, as appropriate. When students reliably demonstrate competence on a level, they automatically move up to the next level where a new assortment of reading content (which is incrementally more complex) is available. Because instruction is highly differentiated, performance reports are carefully designed to inform educators regarding the progress of each student in relation to individual and class­wide goals and objectives.

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In addition, Reading Plus provides essential structure to (and support for) both modeled and independent silent reading by scaffolding content difficulty, rate of presentation and text format, repetition intensity, stamina requirements, and lesson formats. These personalized and dynamically adjusting scaffolds help students successfully comprehend and gain knowledge from complex texts while encouraging student independence. Reading selections are presented in shorter segments until students demonstrate the stamina, attention, and reading rate required to progress to more extended reading. “Engagement Builders” appear between text segments to provide additional scaffolding for students. These Engagement Builders complement the dynamic presentation of text by providing engaging images with brief supporting text­dependent statements that support comprehension and stamina development.

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How do Reading Plus comprehension tasks specifically align with Common

Core anchor standards?

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What kind of comprehension tasks do students encounter in Reading Plus?

Reading Plus lessons include the following integrated, text­dependent comprehension tasks

A. Selected response with reread ­­ student selects one correct answer from a group of four options.

B. Selected response with excerpts ­­ student reads an excerpt from the selection and then selects a correct answer from a group of four options.

C. Selected response with two excerpts ­­ student reads two excerpts, either both from the selection, or one from the selection and one external, and then selects a correct answer from a group of four options.

D. Selected response with image ­ student views an image and then selects the correct answer from a group of four options.

E. Multi correct with reread ­­ similar to above but student must select two correct answers from a group of five options.

F. Multi correct with excerpt ­­ similar to above question type with “excerpts”, but student must select two correct answers from a group of five options.

G. Multi correct with two excerpts ­­ similar to above question type with “two excerpts”, but student must select two correct answers from a group of five options.

H. Drag and drop ­­ student clicks and drags four answers into correct order. I. Highlighting ­­ student highlights one or two sentences, as directed, to answer a

question about an excerpt from the text. J. Constructed response ­­ each Reading Plus selection is followed by a

constructed response comprehension question. Students are asked to write an evidence­based answer that links themes, ideas, or topics in the text to additional research or background knowledge.

How does Reading Plus assess student proficiency?

Student proficiency is measured automatically by the system. The system documents and reviews numerous lesson measures on an ongoing basis to inform teachers and determine future lesson customization for each student. For example, the system documents and evaluates lesson difficulty, length, selected interest topics, rating of content, student’s reading rate (guided and independent), comprehension accuracy, how independently a student was able to complete comprehension tasks (e.g., was the student capable of answering the questions with or without the use of optional scaffolds). Constructed responses and additional targeted offline skill lessons are currently not automatically scored by the system but teachers are provided with lesson plans and scoring guides.

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How can teachers track and assess students' performance in Reading Plus?

Teachers are provided with program descriptions and instructional objectives, lesson plans, and scoring guides. Teachers receive notifications alerting them of program adjustments, recommendations, and students in need of special attention. They also have access to a variety of color­coded reports that group students by proficiency, progress, adherence to instructional assignments, and/or instructional needs. Reading Plus provides a library of standards­based constructive response prompts and offline skill lessons a teacher can use to further customize instruction, including building her/his own assessments as needed.

What formative and summative assessments are in Reading Plus? In addition to ongoing formative assessments that are fully integrated into the instructional programs, Reading Plus also provides a 30­minute computer­adaptive assessment that can be administered up to three times per school year to benchmark progress within three dimensions essential to successful independent silent reading: capacity, efficiency, and motivation. The assessment goes beyond the typical measures of comprehension and vocabulary (capacity) by also including measures of comprehension­based silent reading rate (efficiency) and motivation for reading. The initial administration of the assessment is required to determine students’ instructional needs, place students within assigned instructional components and provide schedule recommendations. Mid­ and end­of­year administrations are optional and can be used to gauge performance changes and or for summative assessment purposes. The assessment was developed to provide an assessment that is useful in the 21st century standards­based environment. Toward that end, measures have been taken to maximize the reliability and validity of InSight so that it can be used with confidence to assess, track, and measure progress in developing reading proficiency.

How does Reading Plus measure a student's fluency challenges and strengths?

The system measures fluency in terms of students' comprehension­based silent reading rates, and it compares each student's current comprehension­based silent reading rate to grade­level norms. Students, whose current silent reading rates are at or above rates roughly commensurate with rates at the 75th percentile or higher, would be reported as strong ("high") in fluency. Students whose rates are below that (and the program plots every student's rate along a normal curve, visible on the scatterplot graph of the Site Screening Report or the Class Screening Report) are highlighted as students who would benefit from further fluency development within Reading Plus.

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Rate can be low and a student can struggle with fluency for a host of reasons, for example, over­reliance on decoding strategies that no longer serve the student, low automaticity, or poor binocular coordination. Reading Plus tracks improvements in fluency purely on the basis of increases in comprehension­based silent reading rate. However, as students work in Reading Plus with the support of the Guided Window, students who struggle with fluency for any of the reasons outlined above (over­reliance on decoding, low automaticity, or poor binocular coordination), will be able to address and resolve those issues. During InSight assessment, Reading Plus looks at each student's fluency (measured via comprehension­based silent reading rate), comprehension, and vocabulary. A measure is reported out for each, along with overall proficiency level (a composite score that includes all three measures). Since the program looks at each student's comprehension­based silent reading rate relative to grade­level norms for silent reading rate, Reading Plus can identify students with strong fluency, along with those who need fluency development. The program can also identify students whose comprehension and/or vocabulary is low. The fact that Reading Plus measures each domain separately helps with crafting a personalized instructional path that is appropriate for each student, based on his/her strengths/weaknesses in fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. During InSight assessment (initial assessment and subsequent benchmarks), students read comprehension passages and answer questions. Within the comprehension passages section of the InSight assessment, the system looks at the number of words contained within each screen of text, along with the time it takes for the student to read all of the text on a screen. This allows the system to capture a word per minute (wpm) measure for each passage. After reading a comprehension passage, the student answers comprehension questions. This allows the program to validate that the student comprehended the text while reading at that rate. Hence, the program is able to report out comprehension­based silent reading rate after the assessment.

What is the research basis for the Reading Plus program? Experimentally sound evidence of the success of the Reading Plus program in promoting reading achievement and standards­based test scores can be found in numerous peer­reviewed scientific journals and independent district studies. The Reading Plus Research Department has also documented the impact of the program on the performance of various student sub­populations. Links to these materials are provided here: Peer­Reviewed Research Reutzel, D.R., Petscher, Y., & Spichtig, A.N. (2012). Exploring the value added of a guided, silent reading intervention: Effects on struggling third­grade readers’ achievement, The Journal of Educational Research, 105(6), 404­415. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220671.2011.629693#.VTVcifnF98E Rasinski, T.S., Samuels, J., Hiebert, E., Petscher, Y., & Feller, K. (2011). The relationship between a silent reading fluency instructional protocol on students’ reading comprehension and

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achievement in an urban school setting. Reading Psychology, 32, 75­97. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02702710903346873#.VTVdGPnF98E Shelley­Tremblay, J., Eyer, J. (2009). Effect of the Reading Plus program on reading skills in second graders. Journal of Behavioral Optometry, 20, 59­66. http://www.oepf.org/sites/default/files/journals/jbo­volume­20­issue­3/20­3%20Shelley­Tremblay.pdf School District Research Urdegar, S.M. (2013). Reading Plus: An analysis of usage and impact, 2011­12. Technical Note, Office of Assessment, Research, and Data Analysis, 1(1), 1­8. http://drs.dadeschools.net/TechnicalNotes/TN1201.pdf Urdegar, S. M. (2014). Links to Learning Applications: An Analysis of Usage and Impact, 2013­14. Evaluation Matters, 4(2), 1­5. Retrieved from: http://oer.dadeschools.net/EvaluationMatters/LinktoLearningApps­AnalysisOfUsageAndImpact13­14.pdf Urdegar, S.M. (2013). Links to Learning applications: An analysis of usage and impact, 2012­13. Evaluation Matters, 3(3), 1­5. Retrieved from: http://drs.dadeschools.net/TechnicalNotes/TN1201.pdf Urdegar, S.M. (2012). Links to Learning applications: An analysis of usage and impact, 2011­12. Evaluation Matters, 2(1), 1­5. Retrieved from: http://oer.dadeschools.net/EvaluationMatters/TransmittalofEvaluationMattersLinkstoLearning2011­12M247.pdf Urdegar, S.M. (2011). Links to Learning applications: An analysis of usage and impact – year 1. Evaluation Matters, 1(1), 1­5. Retrieved from: http://oer.dadeschools.net/TransmittalofEvaluationMatters.pdf Third Party Review What Works Clearinghouse (2010). WWC Intervention Report: Adolescent Literacy: Reading Plus. The U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/intervention_reports/wwc_readingplus_091410.pdf Reading Plus Research Briefs Reading Plus Research Department (2015). Reading Plus® Significantly Raises the Reading Achievement of Both Lower­ and Higher­Performing Students. https://www­cdn.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2013/12/Reading­Plus­Significantly­Raises­the­Reading­Achievement­of­Both­Lower­and­Higher­Performing­Students.pdf Reading Plus Research Department (2015). Reading Plus® Significantly Raises Achievement for Students with Learning Disabilities.

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https://www­cdn.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2013/12/Reading­Plus­Significantly­Raises­Achievement­for­Students­with­Learning­Disabilities.pdf Reading Plus Research Department (2015). Reading Plus® Significantly Raises Achievement for Students Eligible for Subsidized Lunch. https://www­cdn.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2013/12/Reading­Plus­Significantly­Raises­Achievement­for­Student­Eligible­for­Subsidized­Lunch.pdf Reading Plus Research Department (2015). Reading Plus® significantly raises achievement for English Language Learners. Reading Plus Research Brief, 4(1), 7p. Full Report (7p): http://www.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2015/02/The­Effect­of­Structured­Silent­Reading­Practice­on­ELL­Students.pdf Two Page Summary: http://www.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2015/02/Reading­Plus­Significantly­Raises­Achievement­for­ELL.pdf Reading Plus Research Department (2015). More Reading Plus® lessons completed = Significantly greater reading proficiency gains: Follow­up study with a matched student sample. Reading Plus Research Brief, 3(2), 1p. http://www.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2014/11/ResearchBrief_Vol3_Issue2.pdf Reading Plus Research Department (2014). Impact of Reading Plus® on Shelby County Schools middle school students’ reading proficiency scores as measured by a norm­referenced diagnostic reading assessment: Initial findings. Reading Plus Research Brief, 3(1), 2p. http://www.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2014/04/ResearchBrief_Vol3_Issue1.pdf Hiebert, E.H., Spichtig, A., & Bender, R. (2013). Building capacity in low­performing readers: Results of two months of Reading Plus® practice. Reading Plus Research Brief, 2(1), 3p. http://www.textproject.org/library/resources/building­capacity­in­low­performing­readers/ Reading Plus Research Department (2011). What is the effectiveness of Reading Plus® on ninth­grade intermediate ELL students’ reading scores as measured by the GRADE™? Reading Plus Research Brief, 1(1), 2p. http://www.readingplus.com/wp­content/uploads/2013/12/ResearchBrief_Vol1_Issue12.pdf

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