News
Allington on Response to Intervention (RTI)
By Lauren Huffman
(May 11, 2010) Richard Allington, professor of education at the University of Tennessee, spoke last Wednesday on current education practices, Response to Intervention, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), and Reading Recovery. Allington's presence and expertise were welcomed in honor of the celebration of Reading Recovery's 20th anniversary.
Allington has served as the president of the International Reading Association, president of the National Reading Conference, and as a member of the International Reading Association Board of Directors. He is a longtime advocate for teaching professionalism in literacy education.
His innovative teaching methods stem from his research of reading educational reform in reading over the last 35 years. Allington maintained that little is really new, and how quick-fix educational reforms consistently fail the students. Allington has been a longtime supporter of the Reading Recovery program, and cites What Works Clearinghouse, a central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education, as proof for its success in young readers.
With an economist approach, he talked about the differences in reading ability based on resources. Poor kids, who have less reading time than middle class kids during the summer, fall behind in school because of a lack of books for them to read while they are out of school. Allington proposes that kids be provided with books that they are interested in, allowing them more minutes spent reading and developing a passion for reading. Allington recognizes that, "when it comes to teaching, the power of a reader's passionate personal interests cannot be overstated."
Allington emphasized the mistake that schools commonly make by placing children who are behind in reading in special education classes. Students who struggle in reading are more likely to drop out of high school, and this is why he stresses that reading skills must be developed early in school. He believes that students who are lacking do not need different curriculum, but more and better instruction on the curriculum that they are failing. He introduces the concept of High-Success Reading, an intervention that must take place all day long with high quality instruction by teachers in every subject. Teachers can improve their students' reading skills by instructing them to read in phrases with 90 percent accuracy.
Teachers can also get kids interested in reading by "blessing books." Everyday teachers can introduce 4-5 books to their classrooms, and display the books for students. This will make 20-25 books available to students per week.
Most importantly, "in the end, it comes down to the kids," Allington stated. Research has proved that retention is not effective, and teachers must rise to the occasion with high quality instruction. This instruction can be learned through programs such as Reading Recovery.
Allington has authored over 100 research articles and several books, including Classrooms That Work: They can all read and write, Schools That Work : All children readers and writers, and No Quick Fix: Rethinking Reading Program in American Elementary Schools. His most recent book, What Really Matters for Response to Intervention, provides a research-based design for RTI planning.
Allington currently serves on the editorial boards of Reading Research Quarterly, Remedial and Special Education, Journal of Literacy Research, Journal of Disability Policy Studies, and the Elementary School Journal. He has previously served terms on the editorial boards of the Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, and the Reading Teacher, and as associate editor of the Journal of Literacy Research.
The presentation was sponsored by the College of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and the Mary and Jean Borg Center for Reading and Literacy. Following the presentation was a book signing. Copies of his book, No Quick Fix, The RTI Edition: Rethinking Literacy Programs in America's Elementary Schools were available for purchase.