Open Court Reading and Reading Mastery Combine to Create Successful Elementary Reading Program

This descriptive study examined the implementation of McGraw Hill’s Open Court Reading and Reading Mastery at Frank Hartsfield Elementary School, a school serving more than 500 students in Grades K–5 in Tallahassee, Florida. Educators implemented Open Court Reading in Grades K–2 at the beginning of the 1996–1997 school year, adopting it school-wide the following year, and added Reading Mastery during the 1998–1999 school year as an intervention tool for Grades K–5. Outcomes examined included reading achievement measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading portion for Grades 3–5. Over the course of the implementation, reading scores increased. In 1998, the percentage of students in Grades 3–5 scoring at or above Level 3 on the FCAT was 45%. Following the implementation of both programs, this percentage was 61% in 1999, 60% in 2000, 67% in 2001, 67% in 2002, 70% in 2003, and 71% in 2004.