The Florida Center for Reading Research: Accomplishments and Current Activities

In January of 2002, Governor Jeb Bush established the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR), with the vision that it would become the preeminent research center on reading in the country. Funded by the Florida Legislature since 2004, FCRR has spent the past four years conducting research in reading and helping Florida educators use reading research to achieve higher levels of reading proficiency for all students.

Accomplishments to Date:

• Partnered with the Just Read, Florida! Office in designing and writing a Reading First application that was one of the first three awarded nationally, bringing over $300,000,000 to Florida to improve reading instruction in grades K-3.
  
  
• Designed and developed one of only two state level web-based systems that can provide immediate reports to parents, teachers, principals, district staff, and state leaders about student progress in reading. This Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network ( PMRN) currently houses data from progress monitoring assessments for 1,761 elementary and middle schools in Florida (over 700,000 students), as well as information from over 2000 reading coaches in the state.
  
  
• Developed progress monitoring assessments for struggling middle school readers and currently provides state level support, training and reporting through the PMRN for these assessments in middle school.
  
  
• Partnered with Polk, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Seminole counties to conduct evaluations of reading interventions for struggling readers.
  
  
• Attracted five out of state reading researchers to tenured faculty positions at FSU, all of whom are conducting research supported by funds from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Science Foundation, and the Institute for Education Sciences.
  
  
• Conducted a high-quality research study of the FCAT reading test, demonstrating its strength as a solid measure of overall reading skill and identifying factors important for good performance K-12.
  
  
• Hosted a Research conference for University faculty and graduate students, as well as teachers, conducting research on reading in Florida. Representatives from nine universities and 4 school districts made presentations at the conference.

Current Activities in Florida:

• Provides assistance to the 587 Reading First schools in the implementation of reliable reading assessments, the use of student data to guide instruction, evaluation of reading curriculum materials, and development of new materials to support instruction.
  
  
• Currently working with Seminole County to conduct the largest randomized trial of reading interventions for high school students ever conducted.
  
• Provides assistance to the VPK office at FLDOE in identifying outcome standards for Pre-K literacy, designing professional development for Pre-K teachers, and reviewing Pre-K literacy curricula to assist providers in choosing high quality materials.
  
  
• Faculty from the following Florida universities are Associates of FCRR: Florida Atlantic University, University of Florida, University of Miami, University of South Florida, and University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Impact at National Level:

• FCRR faculty currently serving on distinguished national boards and panels concerned with reading and educational research:
  
  
• Dr. Torgesen (FCRR Director): National Board of Education Sciences (Presidential appointment.)
  
  
• Dr. Wagner (FCRR Assoc. Director): National Institute for Literacy (Presidential appointment.)
  
  
• Dr. Lonigan (FCRR Assoc. Director): Secretary's Advisory Committee on Head Start National Reporting System, and the Early Literacy Panel of the National Institute for Literacy.
  
  
• Bringing more than $10,000,000 a year in research and training research grants to Florida. Among these grant supported projects are:
  
  
• National Technical Assistance Center for Reading First , which is funded by USDOE and involves a partnership with the University of Texas and the University of Oregon. FCRR's role is to provide technical assistance in implementing Reading First to the entire eastern seaboard ($1.8 million a year).
  
  
• National Center for K-12 Instruction in Reading, Math, and Science , also funded by USDOE and involving a partnership with the University of Texas, the University of Houston, Stanford University, and RG Research Group. ($500,000 a year)
  
  
• National Center for Multidisciplinary Research on Learning Disabilities , which is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1.44 million a year).
  
  
• Pre-doctoral Interdisciplinary Training Grant in Educational Research. Awarded by the Institute for Educational Sciences (IES), and one of only 10 in the country ($1 million a year)
  
  

For more information, visit
www.fcrr.org
or call 850.644.9352