Reading Recovery is a highly effective short-term intervention of one-to-one lessons for low-achieving first graders.

What is Reading Recovery?

Reading Recovery is a highly effective short-term intervention of one-to-one lessons for first grade children who are struggling in reading and writing. A supplement to classroom teaching, Reading Recovery provides students a half-hour reading and writing lesson each school day for 12 to 20 weeks with a specially trained Reading Recovery teacher. The one-to-one instruction is essential for accelerated learning for first graders having extreme difficulty learning to read and write. These struggling readers have individual differences and confusions that cannot be addressed in small group instruction or in scripted programs. As soon as students can meet grade-level expectations and demonstrate that they can continue to work independently in the classroom, their lessons are discontinued, and new students begin individual instruction.

The goal of the program is to dramatically reduce the number of students who have extreme difficulty learning to read and write and to reduce the cost of these learners to educational systems. For children with a complete intervention, two outcomes are possible. Bother are positive for the child and for the school.

• The child made accelerated gains and is reading at grade-level expectations. Since 1984 when Reading Recovery began in the United States, approximately 75 percent of students who complete the full 12- to 20-week intervention meet grade-level expectations in reading and writing. Follow-up studies indicate that most Reading Recovery students also do well on standardized tests and maintain their gains in later years.
• The child made progress, but does not meet the rigorous criteria for grade-level expectations. The child is recommended for further evaluation and future instructional support as needed.

One-to-one instruction more effective than small-group instruction

Scientific evidence indicates that individualized instruction is more effective than small-group instruction. Read what the Reading Recovery Council of North America Web site says about one-to-one-teaching.

View the What is Reading Recovery? video

This video produced by the Reading Recovery Council of North America shows Reading Recovery lessons for children and discusses professional development for teachers. View the What is Reading Recovery? video.

Reading Recovery Council of North America

The Reading Recovery Council of North America, Inc. (RRCNA) is a not-for-profit association of Reading Recovery professionals, advocates, and partners. It advocates for Reading Recovery throughout North America by providing a wide variety of programs and services, including publications, annual conferences, advocacy, technical assistance, and special institutes. Visit the RRCNA Web site to learn more about the Reading Recovery program, including the latest research.

Reading Recovery's effective teacher professional development, implementation, and research are under guidance of university faculty from more than 20 universities in the United States. Standards and guidelines for Reading Recovery in the United States are developed by university faculty through their service in the North American Trainers Group.