The Education Innovation and Research (EIR) project is a mid-phase project which aims to evaluate and scale an evidence-based, field-initiated innovation to improve reading comprehension outcomes for high-needs students in moderate to high poverty schools. The Model of Reading Engagement (MORE) is a flexible content literacy intervention for students in Grades 1 to 4. Elementary-grade teachers use MORE tools (lessons, digital app, formative assessments) to build students’ background knowledge in science and their foundational word knowledge, with the ultimate goal of improving reading comprehension outcomes. To support the scaling of MORE within a district, professional development (PD) empowers classroom teachers to implement MORE with fidelity and flexibility, while ongoing systems-level support prepares leaders to maximize the depth, spread, sustainability, and reform ownership of MORE. The purpose of this EIR grant is twofold: (1) to scale a Model of Reading Engagement (MORE) through a 100 school randomized controlled trial and (2) to create a national model for scaling MORE cost-effectively from Grade 1 to Grade 4.

A Model of Reading Engagement (MORE) is a spiral curriculum model designed to address persistent gaps in literacy and science achievement between rich and poor children. MORE introduces important concepts gradually over time, starting with simpler forms of the concepts and gradually introducing more complex forms. MORE emphasizes the synergistic effect of learning science on both reading motivation and ability in order to foster engaged readers who are motivated to read deeply in school and at widely at home. Specifically, MORE aims to accomplish this by providing students with: (1) access to complex and connected science concepts across grades 1 through 5; (2) comprehension instruction that integrates reading and writing; (3) support for wide reading at home; and (4) motivational supports. Short-term instruction focused on basic skills can support students’ reading progress in some aspects of literacy (e.g., word recognition), but a long-term systematic and coherent program of instruction is needed to foster students’ ability to read for understanding and acquire knowledge.