Bookworms Case Study Brief

CRESP
January 31, 2019

In the summer of 2018, the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) at the University of Delaware (UD) was approached to conduct a case study of the implementation of the Bookworms curriculum at a Case Study District (CSD) in rural Southern Delaware. The district, which educates approximately 3500 students and a large percentage of low-income children, has historically struggled in getting students to demonstrate academic proficiency and thus turned to the Bookworms program in their reform efforts. Through our analysis, we consistently found where CSD students were once underperforming the state average, these same students are now outperforming the state average three years later. Additionally, these results are seen in nearly all subgroups of students [including English Language Learners (ELL) and special education]. Bookworms taught students how to think critically, understand what they read, and write clearly—crucial skills that align with both Common Core standards and the state-mandated assessment.

Keywords: Reading, literacy, case Study