Score 4 Reading is an integrated intervention for struggling readers. It can also be helpful for English language learners when used as a supplemental material. ELL research supports the same strategies as the Score 4 Reading intervention as valuable for learning a new language. This program integrates (1) accuracy, (2) fluency, and (3) comprehension as the key elements of intervention. The ultimate goal is to develop readers who comfortably read and understand any text as long as they have enough prior knowledge to make sense of it. Rate (words per minute) is addressed during assessments and is not a focus of the intervention itself.

The objective of this program is to generate fluent, comfortable reading that is understandable to the reader. Research supports the efficacy of repeated reading and modeled reading as important strategies for furthering the skills of accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. The 1997 report by the National Reading Panel joined the discussion on the importance of fluency and stated, “If text is read in a laborious and inefficient manner, it will be difficult for the reader to remember what has been read and to relate the ideas expressed in the text to his or her background knowledge.” Many more researchers agree with this notion (Allington, R. 1983; Adams 1998; Rasinski 1990; Smith, F 1999).

The reader in Score 4 Reading is compelled to generate successful reading (feels comfortable, sounds natural, and makes sense). This is accomplished by a six step process that includes repeated reading and listening to a model of wonderful reading on a CD. The stories are modeled using natural phrasing that sounds like talking. Research studies continue to support the need for struggling readers to listen to repeated reading that is well modeled “as it improves reading fluency” (Allington, R. 2002; Reutzel, D. R. and Hollingsworth, P. M. 1993).

Comprehension through a retell is required for each of the parts of a Score 4 Reading story that are divided into 4 to 8 parts. Some parts are not recorded or read to the reader and a there is a comprehension check for those parts as well. This cold read, with a trained guide nearby, allows the reader to safely experiment with newly acquired strategies. A simple guided reading process is used to generate successful reading. The National Reading Panel (NRP 1997) concluded that on the basis of a detailed analysis of the available research that met NRP methodological criteria, “guided repeated reading procedures had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a range of grade levels.” This view is supported by many research studies (Dowhower, S. 1987; Pressley M. 2002).

In Score 4 Reading, a trained guide is responsible for judging the reading according to a stringent scoring guide before allowing the reader to move to another part of the text. The reader is required to perform at the highest standard on the scoring guide in accuracy, fluency, and comprehension throughout the sessions. According to a report on Learning Disabilities Research (2005), accuracy and fluency are critical factors in insuring that people understand what they read.

Frequent feedback is given to readers throughout the sessions. Every passage is broken into parts and readers are given feedback on all parts. The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA 2003) stated that, “students that read and reread passages orally as they receive guidance and/or feedback become better readers.” This study discusses the effectiveness of tape-assisted reading, partner reading, silent reading, and oral reading. These are all components of Score 4 Reading.

Successful reading means comfortably understanding and being engaged in text. In a journal article in Reading Psychology, Tadlock (1986) looked at Piaget’s view of reading. According to Tadlock, Piaget suggested that in order to rebuild an incorrect reading neural pathway, the reader needs to be compelled to experience great reading and then have a chance to experiment with the strategies that the brain was compelled to generate just moments before. The pathway is comprised of the reader’s formula for reading. This formula must have an appropriate mix of the strategies that brains use for the purpose of understanding an author’s intended literal meaning while feeling comfortable and sounding natural. Research on combining Reading Theory and Process Learning Theory (Goodman, K. 1968; Laughlin, S. B. and Sejnowski 2003; Smith 1999; Tadlock, D. 1986) supports the notion that when a brain is compelled to generate a competent experience of a process (in this case, the reading process) and is then allowed to experiment with cold (independent) readings, it will cause its own experience of successful reading. The brain will eventually have a rebuilt neural pathway that is complete and correct, as struggling readers become successful readers through Score 4 Reading.

View a sample Intervention Story.