Expert 21
Reading, Writing + Thinking for the 21st Century [Grades 6-9]
Program Overview > Target Student Population
Expert 21 Was Created to Move Students From
Basic to Proficient Reading in Grades 6–9
See the expert 21 Lexile Chart
Who is Expert 21 for?
Expert 21 was designed for students in Grades 6–9 who fit the following profile:
  • Reading too well to qualify for intervention, but still struggle with some material in their content-area textbooks
  • Upper-level 2s on the state test, but could be 3s with the right kind of help
  • Bored in school, yet actively seeking knowledge and engagement on the Internet, on television, and in video games
As measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), these students are among the majority of middle and high school students currently reading at a BASIC level.
8th Grade NAEP Reading Achievement Level Performance (2007)
Expert 21 includes multiple scaffolds for both the teacher-led instruction and within the software. While software scaffolds are always available to be accessed at each student’s discretion, teacher-led scaffolds are deliberately reduced over the course of the year.

Each workshop follows a “model, mentor, monitor” structure that moves from teacher-directed instruction, to teacher-mentored activities to monitoring of independent activities. Additionally, the type of reading students do in class has been carefully constructed to move from the most highly scaffolded type of reading to independent reading.
Expert 21 Reading Scaffolds Decrease Over Time
Modeled
Reading
Choral
Reading
HIGH
Oral
Cloze
Partner
Reading
MODERATE
Independent
Reading
LOW
LEVEL OF SCAFFOLDING
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