An evaluation of a paired reading program at a high school

Abstract

This paper describes a one year evaluation of a Paired Reading project with 14 (6 girls and 8 boys) Year 8 remedial students at La Salle College in Western Australia. While Paired Reading is well researched with the beginning reader, there is a dearth of information on high school readers. The evaluation study focused on three main areas, (a) the rationale and provided the background of the study, (b) the implementation of the program, (c) it attempted to identify the intended and unintended program outcomes. The mixture of statistical analyses and participant/staff interviews documented not only the success of the program, but also, through the interviews, attempted to link the differing components of the Paired Reading program towards that success.