“. . .inside a dog, it’s too dark to read.” ~ Twain
Re: reading programs in general. My Wonder Woman (a school librarian/”Media Specialist”) has finally seen some movement resulting from her campaign to get away from regimented reading programs and encourage/allow kids to read whatever interests them (within the scope of what she is allowed to have in her collections). Circulation at both her libraries is up, and reading scores have improved dramatically since the regimented reading programs in her two schools have been relaxed in one and eliminated in the other.
One of the things she has excelled in is taking kids with very low reading scores on standardized testing and engaging them in ways that spur their interest in books, primarily by focusing on their personal areas of interest. So far, this has resulted in not only contributing to improving their reading skills but also in broadening their interests. More and more of these “marginal readers” (below grade level, sometimes by several grades) have advanced to well above grade level in reading comprehension.
Interest. When kids discover that books can increase their knowledge/understanding of the things they are interested in, it can make a difference for the better.
(Of course, those with severe cognitive/perceptive impairments of some kind require other kinds of intervention, but excellent tools and materials are available there, as well.)