"The First R" Yesterday and Today: U. S. Elementary Reading Instruction Practices Reported by Teachers and Administrators

• Published in: Reading research quarterly 2000-07, Vol.35 (3), p.338-377
• Main Authors: Baumann, James F., Hoffman, James V., Duffy-Hester, Ann M., Ro, Jennifer Moon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; Childrens literature; Educational administration; Language teachers; Reading instruction; Reading programs; Reading research; Reading teachers; Teacher surveys; Teachers
• ISSN: 0034-0553

This study was a modified replication of Austin and Morrison's classic 1963 study of the status of U. S. public school elementary reading instruction, The First R: The Harvard Report on Reading in Elementary Schools. Surveys modeled after those used in The First R were distributed to a national sample of elementary classroom teachers, building administrators, and district administrators. Results reveal some similarities between reading instruction in the 1960s and today. Teachers of today and yesterday both (a) work with self-contained, heterogeneously assigned classes; (b) dedicate significant time for reading instruction; (c) provide explicit instruction in phonic analysis; (d) are not overly satisfied with their preservice training in reading instruction; (e) administer mandated standardized tests; and (f) report accommodating struggling or underachieving readers as their greatest challenge. Important differences are also noted. Teachers today have more professional training than peers of the past, and they adopt a balanced, eclectic perspective, in contrast to a strong skills-based emphasis in the past. The three-group reading plan has been replaced by considerable whole-class instruction, and programs using both basals and trade books are the norm now compared to the exclusive reliance on basals in the 1960s. An emergent literacy perspective has replaced a reading readiness view, synthetic phonics has supplanted analytic phonics, and alternative reading assessments are in regular use today. School and classroom libraries in the 1990s are more prevalent and better equipped, and changes in programs and philosophy are common today, unlike the static state of reading instruction in the 1960s. /// [Spanish] Este estudio es una versión modificada del estudio clásico de Morrison de 1963, El Primer R: Informe Harvard acerca de la Lectura en la Escuela Elemental, acerca de la situación de la enseñanza de la lectura inicial en la escuela pública de los Estados Unidos. Se distribuyeron encuestas diseñadas en base a las del Primer R a una muestra nacional de docentes de grados iniciales, administradores de escuelas y administradores de distritos. Los resultados revelan algunas similitudes entre la enseñanza de la lectura en los años 60 y en la actualidad. Tanto los docentes de hoy como los de ayer: (a) trabajan con cursos cerrados asignados en forma heterogénea, (b) dedican un tiempo significativo a la enseñanza de la lectura, (c) proporcionan enseñanza explícita