AERDF’s Reading Reimagined program, in collaboration with the RPPL (Research Partnership for Professional Learning), is proud to release the ROAR Implementation Guide—a practical roadmap for bringing advanced foundational reading assessment into secondary schools.
For too long, foundational reading skills have been assessed almost exclusively in early elementary grades. Yet research shows that older students’ reading comprehension depends on their ability to decode above a critical threshold, and many secondary educators lack the tools or training to identify these gaps. The ROAR assessment changes that.
This new guide draws on real implementation experiences from professional learning partners and their district collaborators, surfacing what it takes to:
- Prepare educators to teach foundational skills in secondary settings
- Build buy-in and shared vision across leadership and school teams
- Analyze ROAR data effectively and integrate it with existing systems
- Design intervention pathways that honor students’ skills, languages, and identities
- Support older striving readers with instruction that’s rigorous, age-appropriate, and motivating
This is both a technical resource and a roadmap for shifting how we understand, measure, and support reading development beyond grade 3.
Read the guide and explore what’s possible when research, expertise, and district partnership come together to advance literacy for all learners.
