Iron Springs Elementary School Case Study

When Irons Springs Elementary in Cedar City, UT, first opened, the staff wanted to ensure that every student received a solid foundation in reading. To meet this goal, the staff planned to implement research-based instruction that was flexible and effective for students in all three tiers of the RTI model.

The Reading Horizons program was selected because it was used at another school in the Iron County School District where it was found to be affordable, engaging, and easy to implement. It also correlated to the National Reading Panel’s research findings concerning effective reading instruction for all students.

To test the efficacy of the program, the Institute for Behavioral Research in Creativity (IBRIC), in partnership with the Utah State Office of Education and Iron County School District, conducted a three-year evaluation of Reading Horizons at Iron Springs Elementary. At the start of the study, kindergarten through third-grade teachers at the school were trained in the program and began implementing the curriculum in their classrooms. At the conclusion of the study, it was found that Reading Horizons instruction led to improved reading outcomes when compared to the district (Visual 1) and state (Visual 2) averages.

***The research (above) corresponds to the Reading Horizons structured literacy program for grades K-3. In addition, the entire Reading Horizons reading curriculum comprises a reading intervention program for grades 4+, an ESL reading program and a corrections reading program.***