Reading in the Chicago Public Schools: The IRA and IRC as Case Studies

This research examined the relevance of professional associations to effective reading teaching in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). It looked at the performances of students in meets and exceeds in the Illinois State Achievement Test (ISAT) for third and eight grade students in selected schools in CPS between 1999 and 2004 and how the professional development resources of both the IRA and IRC affected students’ performances by interviewing and conducting a sample survey of CPS reading specialists and literacy coaches.The study recommended that reading specialists and literacy coaches needed more time to maximize the various benefits they could gain from continued memberships in both the IRA and IRC because the results of the ISAT data did not support the analysis of the surveys and interviews in the improvement in students’ performances in the three years of the Chicago Reading Initiative.