Characteristics of Supplemental Reading Classes in American Public High Schools

Abstract

Supplemental reading classes can be described as classes that are provided for students who struggle
in reading. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of high school supplemental reading classes
that were developed to support struggling readers in the United States of America. All data in the study was collected
by a questionnaire that was developed by the researcher in order to describe the characteristics of high school
supplemental reading classes. The questionnaire included 32 questions. All the participating schools were selected
from the State of Wisconsin. A total of 223 teachers in 116 schools participated in the study. A total of 126 teachers
completed and returned the questionnaire. The main findings of this study indicated that the availability of
supplemental reading classes in American public high schools is limited and characteristics of reading instruction in
these classes vary (e.g., student selection, assessment methods). Findings of the study are discussed and
recommendations for developing a similar supplemental reading class in other high schools are provided.