District Statistics
- School District: Polk County School District
- Schools: Alta Vista Elementary
- Number of Students: 827
- Grades: PK-5
- Population: Caucasian = 16%; Black = 20%; Hispanic = 62%; Other = 2%; Students eligible for free or reduced price lunch over 87%
- School Structure: Suburb
Third and Fourth Graders Boost Words Correct Per Minute By Double The Expected Norm
Third and fourth grade students at Alta Vista Elementary School in Haines City, FL, increased their reading fluency skills at almost double the rate of national norms while using Reading Assistant™ software.
"[…]Reading Assistant delivers reading support for all the students," says Reading Coach, Carolyn Craft. "Students are given immediate feedback in fluency and comprehension. The recorded data helps us teachers out too by allowing us to assist in individualizing instruction."
Fluency is measured by the number of words a student reads correctly per minute (Words Correct Per Minute or WCPM). At the start of the school year, when the students began using the program, the Alta Vista third and fourth graders were reading at an average of 72 WCPM. After only five months of using Reading Assistant software, the average was 104 WCPM for third graders and 102 WCPM for fourth graders.
According to AIMSWeb, a scientifically based, formative assessment system, the average rate for building reading fluency is 3.4 WCPM per month for third graders and 3.5 WCPM per month for fourth graders. The Alta Vista third graders increased their reading fluency at a rate of 6 WCPM per month, and remedial fourth graders increased at 5.6 WCPM per month, nearly double the expected norms for both grade levels.
Motivating And Challenging Students
"The results are remarkable, and the best part is that the students are overall very enthusiastic about […] Reading Assistant," says third grade teacher, Rosa Bradley. "One of my students is particularly motivated by the program. It doesn't matter how low she scores on the initial reading, she always tries harder the next time and succeeds. Before the program, she was not motivated to read with fluency, now it is a challenge for her and she loves it."
“Reading Assistant is an Awesome Program for ELL Students.”
Seventy percent of the students at Alta Vista Elementary are English Language Learners (ELL). The documented success is just as prevalent among these ELL students, who predominantly speak Spanish at home.
"Non-English readers are able to feel a comfort zone with the program," says Principal Luis Alvarez. "The student doesn't have any peer pressure of getting something wrong. He is competing with himself only and hearing his own pronunciation is helpful because he can self correct without embarrassment. […] Reading Assistant is an awesome program for ELL students."