Early Childhood Education

Waterford Early Reading Level One

Program Description

 Waterford Early Reading Level One is a technology-based literacy program created for preschool-aged children. It offers individualized instruction through interactive computer lessons, beginning with a brief tutorial to help children learn how to navigate the program. Based on an initial placement test, students are guided through activities targeting early literacy skills like letter recognition, phonemic awareness, understanding of story structure, and other foundational reading abilities. The program is designed to be engaging and developmentally appropriate for young learners preparing to enter kindergarten.

Student Population

The program has been evaluated with preschool students enrolled in Head Start programs. One study involved 27 classrooms across six centers in southeastern New York. The children in the study came from diverse backgrounds, with 42% Black and 41% Hispanic, and represented a wide range of early literacy skill levels. These students were part of an early childhood education setting focused on supporting low-income families.

Current Evidence

According to the What Works Clearinghouse (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/541), research on Waterford Early Reading Level One found no clear impact on children's oral language development, but there was an effects size of +0.07 of print knowledge. While the program offers structured and adaptive instruction, the study reviewed by WWC did not find significant differences in these areas between students who used the program and those who received other forms of instruction.

For more information:

Website: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/541

PDF Report: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/WWC/Docs/InterventionReports/WWC_Waterford_ECE_073007.pdf

Reference

What Works Clearinghouse. (2007). WWC Intervention Report: Waterford Early Reading Level One™. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.