9/24/09

The Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) published a report titled "STAR Pilot Report: Evaluation of the STAR Training Initiative and the Applicability of Its Content for Texas Adult Basic Education."

The report describes the Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) professional development training series on evidence-based reading instruction for adults.

Written by Ken Appelt, TCALL program manager, and graduate assistants Donna Mancuso and Juanita Garcia, the report is part of a larger federal Office of Vocational and Adult Education initiative called the National Diffusion of Reading Research.

During the 2008-2009 academic year, Texas adult education leadership chose to participate in the STAR series of trainings and conduct a pilot study to determine both the quality of the professional development design and how well the training meets the needs of teachers who teach adults reading at an early 4th to end of 8th grade level.

The primary research focus was how well STAR training assists teachers in implementing evidence-based reading instructional practices in the classroom.