ERIC Identifier: ED425250
Publication Date: 1998-12-00
Author: Weiler, Jeanne
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban
Education New York NY.
Success for All: A Summary of Evaluations. ERIC/CUE Digest
Number 139.
Success for All (SFA), a schoolwide research-based reform model developed by
Robert Slavin and his associates at Johns Hopkins University, is based on the
premise that all students can and must succeed in the early grades (Slavin,
Madden, Dolan, & Wasik, 1996). In the belief that reading is fundamental to
other skill areas, the program targets students in lower elementary school
grades. It provides students with intensive instruction in language arts,
extensive professional development to help teachers succeed with every student,
and an active family support program. Results from research conducted by the
program developers, as well as by external evaluators, have shown the SFA
program to be effective in enhancing the reading achievement of economically
disadvantaged and non-native English speaking students.
SUCCESS FOR ALL PROGRAM COMPONENTS
The assumption at the
heart of the Success for All program design is that preventing the occurrence of
early learning problems with immediate comprehensive intervention is more
effective than later remediation of academic difficulties (Slavin et al., 1996).
The SFA model includes the following components:
*a systematic reading program that emphasizes story telling and retelling
(STaR), and language development activities such as phonics, vocabulary
building, auditory discrimination, and sound blending using cooperative learning
techniques;
*a daily 90-minute reading period with grade 1-3 students regrouped into
homogeneous cross-grade ability groups;
*one-on-one tutoring in reading by specially trained certified teachers who
work individually with students reading below grade level;
*assessments every eight weeks to determine students' reading progress,
adjust reading group placement, and assign tutoring if needed;
*professional development for teachers and tutors, which includes three days
of inservice training and guidelines at the start of the school year, and
follow-up training throughout the year;
*a family support team designed to provide parenting education, assist
families of students experiencing personal or health-related problems, and
support family involvement in the school;
*a facilitator who works with teachers and staff in implementing the program;
and
*an advisory committee comprised of the principal, facilitator, teacher and
parent representatives, and family support staff that meets regularly to review
program progress.
First implemented during the 1987-88 school year in five inner-city schools
in Baltimore, MD, SFA has expanded to over 475 schools in 31 states across the
country. It now serves over one quarter of a million American students.
SFA'S ABILITY TO INCREASE STUDENTS' READING ACHIEVEMENT EVALUATION DESIGN
The basic research design used to determine the
effectiveness of SFA has been to match the SFA school with a control school that
is similar in terms of poverty level, historical achievement level, ethnicity of
students, and other factors (Slavin, Madden, Dolan, Wasik, Ross, Smith, & Dianda, 1996). SFA students are then matched to counterparts at the control
schools based on reading pre-test scores. At the end of the school year, the two
groups are administered reading tests and their results are compared. Since the
SFA students and their counterparts were similar (e.g., academically,
socioeconomically, etc.) before the program began, any gains in SFA students'
reading achievement at the end of the year can be attributed to the program
intervention.
OVERALL FINDINGS
The outcomes at multiple SFA schools have
been extensively evaluated since the program's inception. Early evaluations by
program developers have shown positive results for all schools on reading
measures. Smaller studies have shown consistently positive outcomes in areas
such as improved attendance and a reduction in special education placements
(Madden, Slavin, Karweit, Dolan, & Wasik, 1993; Slavin, Madden, Dolan,
Wasik, Ross et al., 1996).
Slavin and his associates have provided a synthesis of research on SFA over a
six-year period from 1988 to 1994 (Slavin, Madden, Dolan, Wasik, Ross, et al.,
1996). By combining results of multi-site studies across all years, they were
able to show uniform improvement of SFA students in all reading measures as
compared to their matched counterparts in non-SFA (control) schools.
SFA'S EFFECTS ON STUDENTS IN THE LOWEST QUARTILE OF THEIR CLASSES
The SFA program developers also found that the greatest
benefits of the program are consistently derived by the SFA students who are in
the lowest 25 percent of their grade on pre-tests. This means that SFA students
with the greatest risk of academic failure perform better and at a much faster
pace than their counterparts in non-SFA schools. SFA students in higher
quartiles of their classes also outperform their counterparts but not to the
same extent. External evaluators have consistently replicated this finding
(Slavin, Madden, Dolan, Wasik, Ross et al., 1996). For example, in their
comparison of English dominant, bilingual, and English as a Second Language
(ESL) SFA students, Dianda and Flaherty (1995a; 1995b) determined that the
highest need SFA students outpaced the control students on several reading
measures by up to six months. They attribute the success of these students to
the daily one-to-one tutoring and the support from the Family Support Team.
SFA'S EFFECTS ON READING ACHIEVEMENT OVER TIME
A key
finding by Slavin and his associates in their six-year multi-site study is that
the longer a school has implemented SFA, the greater the reading achievement of
its students. Slavin proposes that reading outcomes improved as schools gained
more experience in implementing SFA. However, he also notes that it is possible
that the gains they observed are a result of the lasting effect of participation
in the SFA pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs, since most of the
students had started in those grades (Slavin, Madden, Dolan, & Wasik, 1996).
IMPACT OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AND LANGUAGE ON THE READING ACHIEVEMENT OF SFA STUDENTS EFFECTS OF RACE/ETHNICITY
While much research has been conducted
comparing SFA and non-SFA children, less is known about the effect of ethnicity
or race on the reading achievement of SFA children. One SFA study of a racially
integrated school in Fort Wayne, IN, compared the impact of ethnicity on
achievement outcomes of SFA students (Ross, Smith, Slavin, & Madden, 1997).
In comparing the reading achievement of African American and white students, the
researchers found that although African American children scored lower on
pre-tests and were more socially disadvantaged than the white students when
entering kindergarten, the African American children, when post-tested several
grades later, had actually benefited more than the white students, sustaining an
advantage over them.
EFFECTS OF SFA ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
The first SFA
program that served English language learners was implemented in an inner-city
school in Philadelphia located in a high-poverty neighborhood where 60 percent
of the entering students speak Cambodian or other southeast Asian languages. SFA
was adapted to meet these children's language needs, and included the
integration of ESL teachers into the program. In a study comparing Asian SFA
non-native English speaking students with a control group, Slavin and Yampolsky
(1991) found that SFA Asian students in all three grades they studied (3-5)
performed significantly better than the Asian control students, reading a
half-year or more above grade level while the similar non-SFA Asian students
were reading a full year below grade level.
The first bilingual version of Success for All, "Lee Conmigo," was also
instituted in a low-income inner-city Philadelphia elementary school with a
predominantly Latino student population. Spanish-speaking, limited English
proficient (LEP) students at both the SFA and the matched non-SFA school were
pre-tested at the beginning of kindergarten using a Spanish language picture
vocabulary test and tested again at the end of second grade on various Spanish
language reading measures. Slavin & Madden (1995) found that while the
non-SFA bilingual students at the control school scored far below grade level on
all measures, the SFA bilingual students scored near grade level.
These results were also replicated by external evaluators (Dianda &
Flaherty, 1995a; 1995b) who examined the effects of SFA on achievement outcomes
of English language learners in four types of instructional settings in three
different SFA schools in California that served large numbers of bilingual and
ESL students. The four groups of SFA students included: English dominant
students; Spanish bilingual students taught in Spanish using "Lee Conmigo";
Spanish ESL students taught in English ("sheltered students"); and other ESL
students (of various language backgrounds). ESL students all received
ESL-adapted versions of SFA. All SFA and control students were pretested in
kindergarten and again when they completed first grade using various reading
measures. The results for all SFA students were very positive; on average, they
were reading several months ahead of their non-SFA counterparts. The greatest
gains were made for SFA students who were in the lowest 25 percent of their
classes.
THE IMPACT OF SFA ON SPECIAL EDUCATION
A key program goal
is to prevent learning deficiencies and ensure the success of all children very
early on, thereby reducing the number of children requiring special education
services. Research by program developers and others has shown consistently that
the most dramatic effects of Success for All occur for children in the lowest 25
percent of their classes--those most at risk for special education placement.
Slavin, Madden, Dolan, & Wasik (1996) found in their longitudinal study of
SFA students in Baltimore schools that only two percent of the Success for All
third graders (including special education students) were reading two years
below grade level compared to nine percent of the control group. The Baltimore
study also showed a reduction in special education placements of about one-half.
Research by Smith and colleagues in a study across four states determined that
first grade SFA special education students scored much higher than their
counterparts in the control schools (Slavin, 1996).
THE LIMITATIONS OF SUCCESS FOR ALL DURATION OF SFA'S IMPACT ON READING ACHIEVEMENT
In order to determine the
long-term impact of SFA, program developers followed the first group of students
(who started in kindergarten or first grade) to receive SFA program intervention
in Baltimore in 1988 through to sixth and seventh grades. Researchers found that
SFA students scored higher than the matched non-SFA students on every reading
measure at each grade level. At sixth and seventh grade, SFA students (although
no longer in the program) were still scoring higher than their matched
counterparts, but to a lesser extent. By eighth and ninth grades, however,
neither group of students, those who had been in SFA programs or their
counterparts who had not, seemed to be growing much in their reading (Slavin,
Madden, Dolan, & Wasik, 1996). Thus, while there is some continuing effect
after leaving the program at the end of elementary school, the effect appears to
end in the middle grades.
THE GOAL OF READING AT GRADE LEVEL
A key SFA program goal
is to ensure that every child reads at grade level by third grade. In order to
determine whether this goal has been achieved, Madden et al. (1993) looked at
the reading performance of SFA third graders in Baltimore and compared them to a
control group of non-SFA third graders. Although SFA third graders performed
better than the control group, approximately one-fifth of the program group were
performing at least one year below grade level (compared to almost one-half of
the control students who were performing at least one year below grade level).
Indeed, the biggest challenge of the Success for All program is to raise the
reading level of its students to grade level or above. In Slavin's multi-site
study spanning the years 1988 to 1994, the SFA students in the first through
third grades did perform at grade level, as did their first and second grade
counterparts at the control schools. However, fourth and fifth grade SFA
students appeared to be reading below grade level at the end of each school
year, though still performing better than their matched counterparts (Slavin,
Madden, Dolan, & Wasik, 1996).
VARIATIONS IN FINDINGS ACROSS SFA SCHOOLS
Ross and
associates have reported findings from a comparative study on the effects of SFA
in schools in four cities (Memphis, TN; Montgomery, AL; Fort Wayne, IN; and
Caldwell, ID). They found that although achievement results were positive at
three of the schools, the results were inconsistent across all four sites.
Reading outcomes at the Idaho school were the most inconsistent, yielding no
positive effects for SFA first graders. Researchers speculate that the control
school in Idaho might have been changing and becoming more similar to the
program school. Nevertheless, the research points to the challenges in
replicating successful results across a large number of schools, given
differences in training, school conditions, and comparison schools that are used
for evaluation purposes (Ross, Smith, Casey, Johnson, & Bond, 1994).
CURRENT RESEARCH ON THE QUALITY OF SFA PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
Recent research on SFA has also begun to focus
on issues of program implementation in addition to student achievement outcomes.
This research involves examining the experiences and perspectives of SFA
teachers, facilitators, and principals, as well as incorporating implementation
measures into evaluation designs (Ross et al., 1997). In one study which
surveyed teachers on their impressions of the effectiveness of various program
components, Ross and his colleagues (Ross et al., 1997) found that teachers were
very positive about the reading curriculum and tutoring components, but less
positive about the Advisory Committee and Family Support Team. Researchers
speculate that the components external to the reading curriculum, the
centerpiece of the program, probably receive less focus during implementation,
and consequently are not perceived as effective. The researchers also found that
most of the teachers surveyed expressed the view that student interest and
achievement in reading had increased after the implementation of SFA.
SFA researchers have also found it useful to examine the quality of
individual program components (e.g., reading curriculum, tutoring, Family
Support Team, etc.) in their evaluations. Certified SFA trainers rate the
quality of each program component in the SFA school under study in order to
provide researchers with more information about the strengths and weaknesses of
the components within and between schools (Ross et al., 1997). Using such
information, combined with student outcome data, researchers are better able to
explain varying levels of success in SFA schools. Results from such studies have
shown that in schools where implementation levels are high, that is, in schools
where individual components were rated highly by trainers, the effects on
students' reading achievement were also strong. On the other hand, in SFA
schools where program implementations were weak, the effects on student
achievement were also weak (Madden et al., 1993; Ross et al., 1997).
As program developers point out, given the large number of schools adopting
SFA, and the exigencies of individual schools, it is unrealistic to expect that
all schools will implement the program as designed. This was the case in the
Houston Independent School District which adopted SFA in 50 of its schools (20
of which had Spanish bilingual versions). Some adopted just the reading program;
others, the reading plus tutoring programs; still others, the entire program as
prescribed. As expected, the greatest effects were realized in the schools which
implemented the model fully (Ross et al., 1997). In a subsequent study of the
same Houston SFA schools, researchers found differences in achievement effects
by implementation level according to the race/ethnicity and level of poverty of
the SFA student populations (Nunnery, Slavin, Madden, Ross, Smith, Hunter, &
Stubbs, 1997). For example, student outcomes in extremely poor and predominantly
African American schools "appeared to be much more sensitive to variations in
implementation than less impoverished" predominantly Latino schools (p. 5).
While both high and medium level implementations produced identical effects in
moderately impoverished schools and predominately Latino schools, only in SFA
schools with high level implementations (compared to medium level
implementations) did African American students gain in reading. Moreover, high
implementation African American schools were the only schools where, on average,
students met or exceeded grade level on every reading measure, scoring above
national norms (Nunnery et al., 1997).
Currently, program developers are conducting research on school context
factors that contribute to successful program implementations (Cooper, Slavin,
& Madden, 1997). Preliminary findings suggest that successful programs are
those in which school principals are committed to school-wide change (as
compared to "piecemeal change"), teachers "buy into" the program, SFA
facilitators are engaged in a district-wide support network with other SFA
facilitators, and the Family Support Team is integrated into the life of the
school. Indeed, researchers found that the most salient issue facing most SFA
schools is the high level of poverty in the community where the schools are
located; it represents the biggest challenge to the successful replication of
the program. The extent to which the Family Support Team can meet the multiple
needs of the children--physical, emotional, psychological, and academic--will in
large measure determine the success of the program.
REFERENCES
Cooper, R., Slavin, R.E., & Madden, N.A.
(1997). Success for All: Exploring the technical, normative, political, and
socio-cultural dimensions of scaling up. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University,
Center for Research in the Education of Students Placed at Risk. (ED 412 324)
Dianda, M.R., & Flaherty, J.F. (1995a). Report on workstation uses:
Effects of Success for All on the reading achievement of first graders in
California bilingual programs. Los Alamitos, CA: Southwest Regional Lab. (ED 394
327)
Dianda, M.R., & Flaherty, J.F. (1995b). Promising practices, and program
adaptations & successes. Los Alamitos, CA: Southwest Regional Lab (ED 383
793)
Madden, N.A., Slavin, R.E., Karweit, N.L., Dolan, L., & Wasik, B.A.
(1993). Success for All: Longitudinal effects of a restructuring program for
inner-city elementary schools. American Educational Research Journal, 30(1),
123-148. (EJ 463 408)
Nunnery, J., Slavin, R.E., Madden, N.A., Ross, S., Smith, L., Hunter, P.,
& Stubbs, J. (1997). Effects of full and partial implementations of Success
for All on student reading achievement in English and Spanish. Paper presented
at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
(ED 408 558)
Ross, S.M., Smith, L.J., Slavin, R.E., & Madden, N.A. (1997).
Improving the academic success of disadvantaged children: An examination of
Success for All. Psychology in the Schools, 34(2), 171-80. (EJ 551 696)
Ross, S.M., Smith, L.J., Casey, J., Johnson, F., & Bond, C. (1994,
April). Using "Success for All" to restructure elementary schools: A tale of
four cities. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational
Research Association, New Orleans. (ED 373 456)
Slavin, R.E. (1996, February). Neverstreaming: Preventing learning
disabilities. Educational Leadership, 53(5), 4-7. (EJ 517 837)
Slavin, R.E., Madden, N.A., Dolan, L., & Wasik, B.A. (1996). Every child,
every school: Success for All. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. (ED 397 950)
Slavin, R.E., Madden, N.A., Dolan, L.J., Wasik, B.A., Ross, S.M., Smith,
L.J., & Dianda, M. (1996). Success for All: A summary of research. Journal
of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 1(1), 41-76. (EJ 530 239)
Slavin, R.L., & Madden, N.A. (1995). Effects of Success for All on the
achievement of English language learners. Paper presented at the annual meeting
of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco. (ED 388 050)
Venezky, R.L. (1994). An evaluation of Success for All: Final report to the
France and Merrick Foundations. Newark, DE: University of Delaware, Department
of Educational Studies.
