BACKGROUND — McKinley Elementary School is a K–6th grade facility of over 800 students. It is a Schoolwide Title I school at or near the bottom of yearly state proficiencies (ISTEP) in an urban setting. It had a small library collection. Due to overcrowding, sixth graders are presently housed at West Side Jr. High, the feeder of McKinley. Mrs. Barbara Whitaker is a Title I Reading Specialist at McKinley and Mrs. Susan Sandor is a 7th grade reading teacher at West Side.

HISTORY — Scholastic Reading Counts! was initiated in 2001 by Mrs. Whitaker who received a $5000 grant from the Foundations of East Chicago that enabled McKinley not only to trade approximately 800 Accelerated Reader floppy disks for Scholastic Reading Counts! quizzes but also to purchase additional quizzes, books and rewards to bring the total library collection of quizzes and matching books to over 1800. Teachers in grades 3–6 were encouraged to use the system.

YEARS 2 and 3 — Interested teachers used the Scholastic Reading Counts! program to motivate and manage their self-select reading with so much success that in year 3 the program was introduced to all students in grades 3–6 and the program became part of the Schoolwide Title I School Improvement Plan. The goal for all students was 200 points per student per year. Thirteen students earned at least 500 points and one 4th grader had over 800 points! An on-going display case was updated each month with printed class lists and snapshots of students who received ribbons. Because it was so successful, Title I teachers sponsored a day-long "Read-a-thon" reward for the over 100 students who achieved over 200 points.

SUCCESSES — Student behavior had a dramatic change. Students were reading books whenever and wherever they had an opportunity…in the lunchroom, at home, when finished with assignments. They were discussing books and AUTHORS! Children demanded that teacher read-alouds have quizzes. Students walked down the hall informing teachers, principal, and others of their points. Special Education students and BOYS were surprisingly motivated. Circulation in the school library became in one month what it had been in the previous year. Students became confident scholars.

WHEN THOSE 4TH GRADERS TOOK THE 6TH GRADE STATE PROFICIENCY, THEY WERE THE HIGHEST IN THE DISTRICT AND AT THE STATE AVERAGE — AT 69% PASSING ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS (UP FROM 35% PASSING 2 YEARS PRIOR)!

PRESENT — Mckinley now has over 4,500 quizzes with matching titles in the school library collection. Quiz goals at McKinley have been modified to range from 150 to 225/year in grades 3–6 respectively. All Elementary and Jr.High Schools in the district now have SRI and limited Scholastic Reading Counts! quizzes. The local public library has been provided with a list of McKinley’s Scholastic Reading Counts! quiz collection and may correlate their collection. The 4th grade students are now in 7th grade.

FUTURE — Mrs. Whitaker and Mrs. Sandor collaborated during the summer of 2004 to expand the program to West Side.

Like McKinley, besides the high poverty rate, an important factor in the students’ consistently below average standardized test scores is poor vocabulary development due to lack of life background enrichment experiences and little or no independent reading.

West Side, which had Scholastic Reading Counts! and Scholastic Reading Inventory, has sought funding and purchased books, quizzes, and motivational rewards, and has included the implementation and monitoring of Scholastic Reading Counts! and Scholastic Reading Inventory as a means of measuring and motivating self-select reading in its 2004-2005 School Improvement Plan.

Analysis of McKinley’s local data collection mirrors the growing body of reading research that states for positive correlations to standardized testing to happen, the following components for an independent reading program should include:

• Time for silent sustained reading.
• Student choice in and wide access to a variety of reading materials.
• Teachers and other adults reading aloud to students and modeling reading.
• A school environment that supports and values reading in a positive way.

Research has also suggested that low performing students benefit from time given in school to self-select, silent sustained independent reading more than their higher performing peers.

Future data collection and analysis will investigate whether the strong, positive correlation between participation in these programs (following the guidelines listed above) and standardized test scores will continue with the seventh grade focus group.