Results

Greater Philadelphia Cares has managed Reading STARS at a handful of schools and community centers since initiating the program in 2003.

The results for students who have completed the program are dramatic. 
At two sites composed of first-grade students, students averaged a skills-improvement of over one grade level, placing most of these first-grade participants reading at or beyond a second grade level.  (The median reading level for this group of 19 students was 2.3).  Even sixth-graders who tutored first-graders experienced an over 2 grade level increase in their reading skills over the course of the program, and three tutors finished the program reading beyond a high school level. 

These results illustrate how, in only a short period, Reading STARS benefits students by equipping them with the skills they need for a lifetime of learning.  We fully expect that the extra support Reading STARS offers to                                     Reading STARS exclusively utilizes:
students will create a string of positive results, including better attitudes
toward school and learning, higher achievement in all subjects, and higher
graduation rates.

For graduates of two first-grade programs:

• Average improvement of more than one full grade level.
• Most students finished with reading skills higher than second grade
• The median reading level was 2.3.

At one site, sixth-grade students tutored first-graders.  Even the tutors showed improvements:

• Average improvement of two grade levels.
• Some tutors finished reading at a post-high school level.

At Independence Charter School 18 low performing 4th and 5th graders were selected by the school to participate in this program.

• Dramatic results after just 15 hours of tutoring
• Decoding skills raised by 49%

On-site coordinators at our project agencies have provided stacks of anecdotal evidence showing students' improvement.  The principal at a school where a student is being tutored sent us this update on the student's progress:
           
Dora is making excellent progress in reading! She has gone from a 4.3 in October to 5.1 as of February. Keep this up and she'll be at grade level by June! Isn't this great news? We want her to be at 6.0 by June.

For the 2004-2005 academic year, Greater Philadelphia Cares has completed and compiled data for 84 students participating in four schools, McKinley Elementary, Sheppard Elementary School, KIPP Charter School, and Independence Charter School in Philadelphia. The improvements of these students confirm the results we have seen in past years and further demonstrate that Reading STARS benefits are replicable at any location.

Reading STARS uses three standard and accepted tests to measure the skills of participants.

• The Dolch Word Test measures the ability of students to correctly identify common words.
• The Franklin Assessments Decoding Skills ^TM test measures how well a student is able to properly pronounce - decode - made up words.
• The Wide Range Achievement or WRAT Test is a short test to measure a student's grade level reading ability.

Overall Results

During the 2004-2005 academic year, 76 students participated in and completed the Reading STARS program.  The average grade in school for these students was grade 3.2.

The above averages are for all students without respect to their grade level because the Reading STARS program is so individualized that the course of study is determined more by student needs than by actual grade level in school.

Individual School Results

McKinley Elementary School—- 20 students participated in and completed the Reading STARS program. Students in the program were mostly first grade students, though a small handful of second grade students also took part.

At McKinley, we also compared pre- and post-test grade levels to the students’ actual grade levels in school.

For first grade students:

• the mean grade level improved from .77 to 2.3
• the median grade level improved from .7 to 2.1

For second grade students:

• the mean grade level improved from 1.8 to 4.2
• the median grade level improved from 1.6 to 3.5

Sheppard Elementary School—- 46 students participated in and completed Reading STARS. Students at Sheppard who participated in Reading STARS were drawn from the first through fourth grades. Sheppard Elementary is unique in that it serves the poorest neighborhood in the city of Philadelphia and many of its students do not speak English as a first language. In fact, many students begin the first grade not knowing any English.

Again, these averages are for all students in the program at Sheppard from the first through fourth grades. This accounts for the higher pre- and post-test scores of the students.

For first grade students:

• the mean grade level improved from .31 to 2.2
• the median grade level improved from .2 to 2.2

For second grade students:

• the mean grade level improved from 1.4 to 3.9
• the median grade level improved from 1.5 to 3.4

For third grade students:

• the mean grade level improved from 2.8 to 6.7
• the median grade level improved from 2.4 to 6.5

For fourth grade students:

• the mean grade level improved from 5.4 to 7.7

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