Leveled Literacy Intervention

Program description

The Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) program uses a short-term, supplementary, small-group tutoring model to help struggling readers in grades K-2 reach grade level competency. Instruction is designed to be 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week to provide instructional support for phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, oral language skills, and writing. Lessons are given between 16 and 18 weeks and are matched to a student’s reading ability through the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System (BAS). Lessons alternate between independent level texts which students can read without much difficulty and more challenging instructional level texts.

Student population

Leveled Literacy Intervention has been examined in Kindergarten through 2nd grade in rural, urban, and suburban settings. Participants included Black, White, and Hispanic struggling readers in primarily low socio-economic status settings (84% eligible for free or reduced price lunch).

Current evidence

Leveled Literacy Intervention has been rated as Strong by Evidence for ESSA (https://www.evidenceforessa.org/programs/reading/fountas-pinnell-leveled-literacy-intervention-lli) for students in grades K-2nd. The What Works Clearinghouse rated Leveled Literacy Intervention as having potentially positive effects for Reading Fluency, positive effects for general reading ability, and no discernable effects for Alphabetics (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_leveledliteracy_091917.pdf) in grades K-2nd.

For more information:

https://www.fountasandpinnell.com/lli

Ransford-Kaldon, C. R., Flynt, E. S., Ross, C. L., Franceschini, L., Zoblotsky, T., Huang, Y., & Gallagher, B. (2010). Implementation of Effective Intervention: An Empirical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Fountas & Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy Intervention System (LLI). 2009-2010. Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP). Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED544374

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_leveledliteracy_091917.pdf