Reading Success Plan Resources
What is a Reading Success Plan?
A Reading Success Plan (RSP) is a written plan created by the school to support a student who needs extra help developing strong reading skills. The plan identifies the specific reading areas where the student needs support—such as phonics, vocabulary, fluency, or comprehension—and outlines the instruction and strategies teachers will use to help the student improve. Teachers use assessment data, classroom observations, and other information to set goals for the student and monitor progress over time. The purpose of the plan is to provide targeted support so the student can grow in their reading skills and work toward reading successfully at their grade level.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How did my child qualify for a reading success plan?
Reading Success Plans are designed to provide consistent support across grade levels. If a student has a Reading Success Plan in 5th grade and has not successfully exited the plan before transitioning to middle school, the plan continues into 6th grade to ensure there are no gaps in support. Plans may also continue for students who transfer from another school with similar reading support already in place. In addition, a Reading Success Plan is written for students who are newly diagnosed with dyslexia so that appropriate reading instruction and support can be provided. At the middle school (grades 6–8), several sources of information are used to understand students’ reading progress, including existing Reading Success Plans and i-Ready data from the upper elementary, STAR Reading, STAR CBM, IXL assessments, along with observations and student work.
- Who will be involved in creating my child’s reading success plan?
Reading Success Plans are created and implemented by school staff who support student learning. This may include classroom teachers, reading intervention staff, and school administrators. Families are also important partners and are kept informed about the plan and the supports being provided.
- What can I do to help my child at home?
Reading development involves several skills working together. Researchers often describe this using Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which shows that skilled reading is built from many strands that become stronger as they work together. Some strands focus on word recognition (such as decoding and recognizing words automatically), while others focus on language comprehension (such as vocabulary, background knowledge, and understanding what is read). You can learn more about this model here:
https://www.lexialearning.com/blog/what-is-scarboroughs-reading-rope
Families can support these areas at home in several ways:
Support word recognition skills
- Encourage your student to read regularly so they can practice recognizing words and building fluency.
- Have them read aloud occasionally to practice accuracy and expression.
- Practice breaking longer words into parts or syllables when they encounter unfamiliar words.
Support language comprehension skills
- Talk with your student about what they are reading. Ask questions like What happened? Why do you think that happened? What might happen next?
- Discuss new vocabulary words and what they mean in context.
- Encourage your student to explain ideas from what they read in their own words.
Use the resources your student already works with at school
These tools can help students practice the different skills that contribute to strong reading:
- Renaissance / STAR (reading progress and practice):
- IXL (reading and language skill practice):
- Flocabulary (vocabulary and background knowledge through music and videos):
Encouraging regular reading, discussing ideas and vocabulary, and practicing skills through these resources can help strengthen the different strands that contribute to skilled reading.
- How long will my child have this plan?
A Reading Success Plan remains in place while a student is working toward grade-level reading proficiency. Schools regularly review assessment data and classroom performance to monitor progress and adjust instruction as needed. A student may exit a Reading Success Plan once assessment data shows they are consistently reading at or above grade level across all reading skill areas on two consecutive assessments. This helps ensure that progress is steady and that the student is able to maintain strong reading skills over time.
- Does this mean my child will be getting reading intervention services?
A Reading Success Plan identifies the reading skills that need support and outlines strategies the school will use to help. Some students may receive targeted instruction or small-group support, while others may receive additional support within their regular classroom instruction.
- Does this mean my child has dyslexia?
No. A Reading Success Plan does not mean a student has dyslexia. The plan simply indicates that additional support in reading is needed. Some students with dyslexia will have Reading Success Plans to help guide their instruction, but many students with Reading Success Plans improve their reading skills through targeted instruction and practice.
