Reading and Writing of First-Grade Students in a Restructured Chapter 1 Program

Abstract

Studies that demonstrate effective Chapter 1 programs have been few. This project examined the effects of focused Chapter 1 instruction on first-grade students’ literacy. Three perspectives on students’ end-of-the-year reading and writing performances showed that (a) the majority of project students could read a primer text or higher fluently; (b) students in the restructured Chapter 1 program had significantly higher performances than students in the district’s regular Chapter 1 program; and (c) students in the restructured Chapter 1 who had begun first grade with significantly lower readiness scores than all groups of classmates were performing comparable to students in the middle of the class. The discussion raises questions about sustenance of student growth and teacher practices and proposes directions for Chapter 1.