Our mission is to help you develop confident, successful readers. Through the use of proven, research-based strategies, Scholastic Reading Counts! is an effective way to boost reading achievement for all students. When you consider the best practices for improving reading, as reflected by the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act, you’ll see why Scholastic Reading Counts! helps you make every child a reader.

Learn more about the importance of independent reading practice and matching students to the just-right text in the following research reports.

Raising Students Who Want to Read (PDF)
Phyllis S. Hunter
Reading programs must include a motivational component to be complete. Here are research-based strategies educators can use to help students develop the motivation to become skilled readers.

Matching Books to Readers (PDF)
Gay Su Pinnell, Ph.D.
Our goal as teachers is to help students become good readers who not only can read but do read.

Reading: Voluminously and Voluntarily (PDF)
John Shefelbine, Ph.D.
The unique language of books and literacy is learned the way any language is learned — by using and living it as a way of life.

Matching Students to Text: The Targeted Reader (PDF)
Jack Stenner, Ph.D.
Targeted reading is self-reinforcing, pleasurable, and productive.

The research shows:

• Reading achievement is positively related to the amount of time students spend reading.
• Students develop vocabulary and concept knowledge through extensive reading.
• The best way to strengthen reading skills and foster the reading habit is to see that students get reading practice with books that are carefully selected and matched to their reading level and interests.
• Motivation is essential for maintaining students’ sustained attention to reading.
• To build comprehension skills, students should read widely, respond to questions, and talk about what they’ve read.
• Helping struggling readers requires a supportive literacy environment as part of a carefully planned intervention program.
• Families and communities have an important role in helping students become successful readers.
• Assessment and evaluation are necessary to monitor student progress and adjust instruction.

Lexiles: A System for Measuring Reader Ability and Text Difficulty (PDF)
A Guide for Educators
MetaMetrics, Inc.

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