Achieve the Goals of Reading First

The Latest: Research and Legislation
Reading First (K-Grade 3) and Early Reading First (PreK) are prominent new initiatives of the No Child Left Behind Act. They reflect the country's commitment to act on the knowledge provided by both current research on reading development and brain function. The earlier a child receives positive experiences of learning, the more likely that child is to succeed academically. The initiatives will provide help to teachers and children during these early learning years thus preventing reading difficulties.

Teaching and Learning Tools to Achieve Your Goals
CTB offers a full range of diagnostic and skill-development programs for early learners to help you meet the goals of the Reading First and Early Reading First initiatives--engaging classroom activities that help teachers evaluate a variety of literacy skills and meet each child's individual needs during the critical early development years.

How do Reading First and Early Reading First Help?
These reading initiatives provide assistance and funding for states and districts to establish effective, research-based screening and reading programs. Educators can select tools to identify student strengths and weaknesses and monitor student progress toward established standards in critical early years.

What Makes an Effective Reading Program?
States have the power to choose their programs; the U.S. Department of Education has indicated that there is no approved list of instructional/assessment materials. However, states must select screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments and learning tools with proven validity and reliability. In addition the materials must address the following essential components of reading instruction and assessment:

	phonemic awareness
	phonics
	vocabulary development
	reading fluency, including oral reading skills
	reading comprehension strategies

What Does Research-Based Mean?
The Reading First initiative requires that assessment and instruction tools must be based on rigorous, scientifically based research that:

	Uses rigorous, systematic, and empirical methods
	Uses rigorous data analyses to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn
	Relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations
	Is accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review.

What Solutions Does CTB/McGraw-Hill Offer That Fulfill the Goals of Reading First and Early Reading First?
Throughout its 75-year history, CTB/McGraw-Hill's mission has always been "To Help the Teacher Help the Child." The name CTB is synonymous with high quality, reliable, and research-based assessment materials. Now is the time to partner with CTB to help every child learn to read, and learn to succeed. CTB Early Learning Products provide early assessment, early instruction, and early success!