ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates one approach to using students’ comprehension and fluency scores as a tool to help schools evaluate the effectiveness of their classroom reading instruction. This chapter was prompted by the findings from a recent study we conducted on school improvement in reading. With respect to reading comprehension, as both a goal and an outcome, we found that when coupled with strong professional development effort, in the form of a study group process to improve instruction, reading comprehension assessment data that is benchmarked against a national database can serve as a tool to help teachers within a building modify their classroom reading instruction and, in turn, increase students’ growth in reading achievement (Taylor, Pearson, Peterson, & Rodriguez, in press).
