Results for Year 2 of an Early Reading First Project

Abstract This paper presents results of Year 2 of an Early Reading First project in a low-income, primarily African American community. Goals of Early Reading First include preparing at-risk preschoolers for school success. This project provided professional development, classroom coaching, books, and materials in support of a literacy-focused preschool environment, and parent education related to early literacy. The sample consisted of the 4-year-old group in Cohort 2, numbering approximately 100 children (treatment) and 30 children (comparison). The kindergarten group in the second year (Cohort 1) numbered 31 (treatment) and 29 (comparison). The comparison group was assumed to reflect higher SES since those children attended fee-for-service child care, while the treatment group attended free child care. Data were collected before and after the intervention by using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III) and a locally developed letter-ID subtest. Additional data from five locally developed subtes...