By Nathan Storey, Johns Hopkins University
Recognizing the importance of instilling vital reading skills from an early age, practitioners and researchers are seeking systematic approaches to support young learners over multiple years. The 95 Phonics Core Program (95 PCP) is a whole-class Tier 1 program for students in grades K-5, which was recently evaluated by Schechter and colleagues in Arizona.
In their study of 405 kindergarten through first grade students (199 control and 206 treatment) across five schools in Flagstaff, Arizona, researchers followed students during the 2022-2023 school year. Students in the sample included 40% Hispanic students and 46% Low Income students. The program was used as the core reading curriculum in two volunteer schools, while the three comparison schools used National Geographic (NatGeo) as their core reading curriculum. Students in each group were matched through propensity score matching based on grade level/age, baseline achievement scores, gender, race and ethnicity, special education status, homeless status and economically disadvantaged status.
The 95 Phonics Core Program aims to address and prevent reading gaps through explicit, structured phonics instruction for 30 minutes per day. Each of the course lessons includes specific phonics skill instruction, examples of high-frequency words, and information on other skills addressed. The study used the aimsweb Plus Early Literacy Assessment, finding that students in the 95 PCP schools demonstrated statistically significant greater growth in early literacy (ES = +0.29). Kindergarten students scored 17 more points than the comparison group, while first grade students scored 8 points higher than their comparison group peers. Researchers noted the program supported an additional 22% of kindergarten students and 8% more first graders being on track, or considered “Low Risk” in the aimsweb scoring. This study is noteworthy also for meeting Evidence for ESSA Level 2 (Moderate) standards.
Best Evidence in Brief Index 