Plugged-in to Reading™ Sparks Student Interest and Lights-up Test Scores
Hamilton County High School Sees Lift in Test Scores Thanks to Reading Curriculum for Secondary Students
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Hamilton County High School in Jasper, Fla., was facing several challenges with its reading curriculum as the 2008-2009 school year came to an end. A center of learning to more than 630 students, the high school’s language arts and reading classes were suffering low reading scores across grade levels from uninterested students. Teachers needed new teaching strategies complemented by engaging text to motivate students.
The school district’s Coordinator of Student Services, Assessment and Accountabilities, Karen Mitchell, found herself looking for a new reading curriculum that would be valuable to the district’s secondary students. After purchasing a new reading curriculum less than two years prior to the 2008-2009 school year, reading scores were lower than ever and Mitchell knew she needed to flip this situation around.
“Effective and engaging reading curriculum products for secondary students are few and far between,” said Mitchell. “I was looking for a program that would not only encourage students to read the text, but provide methods for improving reading comprehension.”
The Solution: Using Plugged-in
Mitchell researched several options, eventually pinpointing the Plugged-in to Reading™ and Plugged-in to Non-Fiction™ programs created by Dr. Janet Allen.
Her familiarity with Dr. Allen began more than seven years ago, and she was drawn in by Plugged-in’s gradual steps taking students from teacher-directed instruction to peer- supported instruction and finally to self-directed learning. Each level of the program comes with resources and materials to guide teachers and appropriately direct curriculum to students.
To engage students in all types of texts, Plugged-in programs use strategy instruction, which supplies students with tools and techniques enabling them to become more efficient learners as they are presented with new materials or skills. The continued guidance and repetitive practice allows students to integrate new information with what they already know.
Focused on reaching every style of learning, the program provides the teacher with methods for differentiated instruction to reach all students in mixed-ability classrooms. Plugged-in provides audio support through audiobooks from Recorded Books, the world’s largest independent producer of audiobooks, shown to improve fluency, vocabulary and comprehension in students, including ELL (English Language Learners) and ESS (Exceptional Student Services) students.
Hamilton County High School implemented the Plugged-in to Reading and Plugged-in to Nonfiction programs in 18 remedial reading courses – each with less than 18 students – across grades nine through 12 at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. Immediately, Mitchell began to notice a change in the students’ attitudes.
“Each month, I make it a point to observe each remedial reading class,” said Mitchell. “After we began using the Plugged-in programs, I experienced something that was very unusual for me. Students were actually excited to show me what they were learning in class! I have never seen students so enthralled in reading – let alone reading nonfiction books.”
Because the program empowers students to utilize new skills, it leads to independent success and increased interest in fiction and non-fiction texts.
“The calculated release from teacher-directed instruction to peer-supported instruction, to self-directed learning built up the students’ confidence,” said Mitchell. “The students were finally presented with text that they could read and comprehend. After finding success with their teacher and peers, they seemed as though they could pick up any book and read it.”
The Results: Engaged Students, Better Test Scores
By the end of the 2009-2010 school year, Hamilton County High School’s students showed progress in every aspect they previously found challenging. Mitchell saw that students were more enthusiastic about discussing the texts and able to express core ideas more clearly. The change in attitude was one of the main goals of the program.
The gradual release increased confidence in reading and encouraged students to dive deeper into the texts. Mitchell also found that throughout the program one non-English speaking student was able to break language barriers, and as he sought help from his classmates the more the other students seemed to be learning.
“Teaching is a great way to learn,” said Mitchell. “These students became the teacher as they helped their fellow classmate succeed.”
Besides engaged students, the results were also visible in the test scores. The school’s Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) results were the best in 10 years for eleventh and twelfth graders. Hamilton County test scores shot up to second place within the state of Florida from those students who had to retake the reading comprehension section of the FCAT. With a 29 percent pass rate, Hamilton County was merely one percentage point behind the first place school and was 13 percent above the state average.
What’s Next?
After such success with the Plugged-in programs, Hamilton County is looking into the Take 10 Reading program, which was developed by Pamela Craig, Ph.D. In addition, they hope to create different combos for eleventh grade students and use Plugged-in in K-6 schools.
