What Makes RAR Different? Evidence, Evidence, Evidence

re-search_RAR_Difference_NewsletterWe are often asked what makes Raising A Reader different from other nonprofit literacy programs.  There are many differences; but at the heart of these differences is Raising A Reader’s proven capacity to help families build the home literacy habits children must have to become skilled readers. And of course, the most important word in that last sentence is “proven”.

So how do we ‘prove’ RAR is effective? Our commitment to program integrity and evaluation demonstrates RAR’s impact over and over again.  When each affiliate gathers information from parents it shines a light on the local power of RAR on participating families and since 1999 more than twenty different independent evaluations-across many different settings-have confirmed RAR’s influence on home literacy behaviors and meaningful parent involvement.

Highlights of our three most recent independent evaluations demonstrate the same powerful effects.

Battle Creek, Michigan—A & S Evaluation Associate

An evaluation of RAR’s Year 2 implementation in Calhoun ISD by A & S Evaluation Associates found the following:

  1. Families who participated in RAR showed a statistically significant increase in creating literacy-rich home environments. Parents reported: having more books at home; longer periods of time reading with their children; parents asking children questions about the book and children asking parents questions about the book.  
  2. School readiness data collected showed that children involved in the RAR program showed superiority in areas such as letter identification, sound identification, concepts of print when compared to counterparts not involved in RAR.
Phoenix, AZ-Virginia B Piper Charitable Trust.
  1. The number of minutes spent per time reading increased.
  2. After participating in Raising A Reader, 90% of parents reported that child asked to be read to.
Roaring Fork, CO

Two school districts (Garfield Re-2 and Garfield 16) reported that children who participate in Raising A Reader are better prepared for success:

  1. Garfield Re-2: RAR children in Kindergarten scored 10 percentage points higher than non RAR children on district-wide literacy assessments.
  2. Garfield 16: By third grade, children with RAR background and Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) support significantly outscored non RAR/CPP on tests of literacy proficiency.
    We know that when families are meaningfully involved, children succeed. Raising A Reader’s evidence demonstrates that over and over again. To read about the other numerous independent evaluations of RAR’s impact, click here.