Reading Recovery is money well spent!
We often hear from professionals in school districts who say that they cannot implement Reading Recovery because the cost is too high and that it requires too much teacher time. A new article from the Canadian Institute of Reading Recovery explains that investing in Reading Recovery is not as expensive as you might think.
“The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory.” ~ aldo gucci
In the article, Cost vs. Cost Effectiveness, authors Allyson Matczuk and Jennifer Flight, Reading Recovery Trainers in 
the Western Region, explain that there is a need to utilize cost-effectiveness as a method of comparing literacy interventions. However, they note that Reading Recovery cannot be compared to interventions that serve all students because Reading Recovery serves the lowest 20% of students. “Helping a struggling emerging reader to learn to read is a different objective than helping an average student to learn to read.”
The article includes a descriptive chart to compare the costs of delivering Reading Recovery with small group literacy intervention, resource support and grade retention. It highlights that Reading Recovery is an intervention that not only targets reading but also writing in less time and with greater success at less cost than small group literacy strategies, resource support or the classroom teaching alone in Grade 1.
An added benefit to Reading Recovery is not only the inclusion of writing but also the training and on-going professional development that teachers receive. Teachers receive high quality training in order to work with students, track student progress and design individual lessons to ensure the best possible learning environment. Teachers have reported that the training and on-going support is some of the best professional development they have ever received. These trained teachers are able to support literacy learning for the entire classroom.
The true cost of not implementing Reading Recovery is that young students do not learn to enjoy learning or develop a curiosity about the world through books. They will struggle throughout their education and will often grow up to not have the self-confidence needed to learn to read well later in life. Offering Reading Recovery to the lowest achieving students in Grade 1 is an investment in the future of children and the future of our communities.
A copy of this article can be found here.
Tags:Cost, Reading Recovery