After second grade, remediation takes significantly longer, classwork becomes difficult and time consuming when a student reads below grade level. Students that do not receive effective reading intervention before the third grade often become discouraged and they struggle with self-esteem. If a student does not read at grade level by third grade, they are four times less likely to graduate by the age of 19, than their grade level peers (Sparks, 2011). Reading problems can be identified as early as kindergarten with the teachers being the first to observe phonological and phonemic awareness deficits — which are vital for success in reading and fluency (Litt, 2010). These skills are important for the student as it gives the ability to distinguish, recall, manipulate, articulate, and process the speech sounds in words. Research has shown the importance of one-on-one instruction and its effectiveness for students with deficits than that of small-group instruction (Balsiger, …show more content…
The sample group was composed of 74 students (37 in each program). This study found that Reading Recovery had a positive effect on the Letter Identification subtest of the Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement and the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. This study also found a statistically significant effect of Reading Recovery on three additional subtests of the Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement, including Concepts About Print, Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words, and Writing