Educator Comments on My Reading Coach
(Formerly "Larrabee's Bridge to Adult Literacy™")

All but one of my Larrabee students experienced growth on the standardized reading comprehension tests by 1, 2 or more stanines. It's a very valuable tool to me as a teacher."

---

"It works for all kinds of students. It's good because it's totally individualized and self-paced. I've used many different reading programs; this is by far the most effective. Kids see how much it helps them. When they couldn't use it for a week, they missed it. My kids think all students should use Larrabee. Kids who make the most progress have a higher language level, although low-language-level students experience growth, too. It helps their spelling. I absolutely would recommend this program in a heartbeat."

---

I've had several years' improvement in only a few months with the kids who are dedicated. I'm very pleased. I've never worked with a program where students have experienced this kind of gain. It doesn't review things that they already know, which is what happens with most textbooks. It analyzes what they don't know and pounds on that and fills in the gaps. Kids work on it who were not identified for the program. They've seen others work on it, and they ask to work on it too. That's very exciting. I've been teaching reading since 1964. You always hope for something magic, and this is it."

---

"Students stay focused because of the highly interactive format. Mr. Larrabee's encouraging comments and the ability of students to see their scores and track progress keeps them motivated through difficult material. All teachers have told me they've seen improvement in Larrabee students. They are applying what they learned from Larrabee in their other classes. They've noticed new confidence in the students - they are eager to try now. Even parents have commented they've seen improvement at home. One boy was a potential drop out and very belligerent about learning; he had a dramatic turnaround at about lesson 14. He started participating in class and reading out loud - voluntarily."

---

"This program turned non-readers into readers, and readers into better readers. In almost every case students made substantial improvement in their reading and comprehension."

---

"The Larrabee program offers students a chance. Due to the private, nonjudgmental format, students can take a risk. Their progress is not dependent upon the rest of the class. They work at a rate that they control, not the teacher. They receive immediate feedback after each attempt. Students want to do well, and with the Larrabee program they can achieve their goals. Students increased their reading skills by one to four grade levels in school formal and informal assessments. This same group of students also scored in the 40 - 75 percentile on the Stanford 9 Achievement Test."

---

"You can see the difference in their reading, but more so in their self-esteem. The kids help themselves. You can open up any page in a book and have them read. They'll say, 'Sure, I can do it.' They feel confident. Before the program, they wouldn't do it. The teacher has done it exactly as recommended, and it's worked. We thought the kids would not want to do it, but they are using the program and learning. I would absolutely recommend it. As a matter of fact, I'm presenting it to my colleagues."

---

"We've done pre- and post-test comparisons and some students have gained three and four years in their ability. The program is doing very well for us - I recommend it."

---

"It's the best thing that anybody has ever sold us. We've had improvement in our Stanford 9 test scores. We have kids anxious to get on the program. I see kids interested in reading. They like it because it's a challenge--they are on their own. It's the best thing we have for our limited language students. I really recommend this program. It has been very successful with our junior high age 'reluctant' readers. Kids are reading multi-syllable words with much more confidence and proficiency."

---

I would recommend Larrabee because I find that it fills in the missing gaps in the students' reading abilities. For those finishing the program, we see a two-year (or more) increase in reading grade level.

---

"They feel better about themselves; their self-esteem improves, especially when they can tackle a big word like 'strabismic' and can read it and spell it. I like the fact that they can work one on one with me every four lessons. They aren't just stuck on a program. The TABE scores have gone up - some showed a little growth; some dramatic growth. Once I tell the kids they are half-way through, they are hell-bent to finish."