The Challenge

• Kentucky’s 97,000-student Jefferson County School District, which includes Louisville, faced an adolescent literacy crisis. Many students did not have the reading skills they needed to succeed in their academic classes. Inadequate performance on the state’s 10th-grade reading test underscored the need for an effective instructional solution. Jefferson County wanted a districtwide plan to improve literacy.

The Solution

• 18 of Jefferson County’s 21 high schools adopted Ramp-Up Literacy to help striving readers break the cycle of failure and establish a pattern of success. The district was impressed with Ramp-Up Literacy’s research-based instructional strategies and intensive support for secondary teachers in teaching literacy across the curriculum.

The Results

• Jefferson County’s focus on literacy has resulted in statistically significant differences and stronger growth on reading assessments for Ramp-Up Literacy students compared with a matched control group of students.

• The district has expanded its implementation of Ramp-Up Literacy beyond striving readers to a more comprehensive approach to building reading comprehension and motivation for all students in all subjects. America’s Choice professional development for teachers and literacy coaches with content-area expertise contributed to this initiative.

Reading Assessment Growth

Language Assessment Growth