Implementing Reading Mastery as a Component of Tiered Literacy Instruction

Despite attempts at reform over the decades, many students with and without disabilities in the United States struggle to learn to read. Bear River Charter School (BRCS) is a K-6 public charter school in Utah that has effectively used Reading Mastery Signature Edition (RMSE) to teach most students to read at grade-level by the end of third grade. Data from the 2022–2023 school year show that over 80% of students in kindergarten, over 70% of students in Grades 1 and 2, and over 90% of students in Grade 3 met grade-level reading benchmarks by the end of the year. This chapter describes the implementation of RMSE at BRCS as one component of tiered literacy instruction at the school and classroom levels. Implementation facilitators (i.e., school charter, leadership, resources, coaching) and barriers (i.e., lack of resources, complexity of intervention) are discussed, and recommendations for effective implementation of empirically supported programs and practices based on implementation drivers are provided.