Coaches and Coaching in Reading First Schools: A Reality Check

Abstract

The current article investigates the work of 20 Reading First coaches to determine how coaches distribute their time and the rationale they give for their work. Teachers' responses to coaches and the relationships between what coaches do and student achievement are also analyzed. There was great variability among coaches in how they allocated their time; their major emphasis was determining if all students, but especially at-risk students, were receiving effective reading instruction. Teachers valued coaches, and there were significant relationships between time allocated to working with teachers and teachers' views of coaches. A median split on amount of time coaches spent coaching divided the coaches' schools into a group with more coaching and a group with less coaching. There was a significantly greater percentage of students scoring at proficiency and a significantly smaller percentage of students scoring at risk in schools where coaches spent more time working with teachers.