What Works to Improve Student Literacy Achievement? An Examination of Instructional Practices in a Balanced Literacy Approach

A core assumption of the San Diego City Schools (SDCS) reform effort was that improved instructional practices, aligned with a balanced literacyAn instructional approach that involves a balance between teacher-led reading and writing instruction and independent learning. Typically, a balanced literacy approach consists of opportunities to read aloud, engage in guided reading, and participate in shared reading. Students receive some phonics instruction, but it is generally not a focus. approach, would be effective in improving student outcomes. This article explores this hypothesis by presenting findings from an analysis of classroom instruction data collected in 101 classrooms in nine high-poverty elementary schools. The study found a prevalent focus on reading comprehensionThe ability to understand what you are reading. instruction and on students’ active engagement in making meaning from text. Teachers’ use of higher-level questions and discussion about text were substantially higher than that found by a prior study using the same instrument in similar classrooms elsewhere. Analyses of instruction and student outcome data indicate that teacher practices related to the higher-level meaning of text, writing instruction, and strategies for accountable talk were associated with growth in students’ reading comprehension.