A school-wide reform program, primarily for high-poverty elementary schools, with a strong focus on reading instruction.
Success for All is a comprehensive school-wide reform program, primarily for high-poverty elementary schools, with a strong emphasis on early detection and prevention of reading problems before they become serious. Key program elements include: (i) daily 90-minute reading classes, each of which is formed by grouping together students of various ages who read at the same performance level; (ii) a K-1 reading curriculum that focuses on language development (e.g., reading stories to students and having them re-tell), teaching students the distinct sounds that make up words (i.e. phonemic awareness), blending sounds to form words, and developing reading fluency; (iii) daily one-on-one tutoring (in addition to the classes) for students needing extra help with reading; and (iv) cooperative learning activities (in which students work together in teams or pairs) starting in the grade 2 reading classes.
The program’s cost, as measured in the first RCT, was approximately $600 per student, over the full three-year period (in 2017 dollars). In the second RCT, the cost of the program over the full three-year period was approximately $900 per student (in 2017 dollars). These cost estimates includes materials and training to implement the program in grades K-5. Schools may incur additional costs of reallocating staff from other functions (e.g., to provide a higher ratio of tutors).