An evaluation of the program's impact on student reading skills during the 2007–2008 school year, sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, measured changes in students' fall to spring scores on the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress reading assessment. Preliminary findings show significantly larger gains among students of Collaboratory participants than among students in the comparison group. The evaluation also indicates a significant increase in teachers' self-reported use of 15 research-based instruction strategies. The feedback below attests to the enthusiasm of current and past participants for the program.

A social studies teacher speaks about the Adolescent Literacy Collaboratory:

Our school is committed to professional development and expects staff to put… an extraordinary amount of time into it. We have had monthly workshops and weekly meetings improving our practice, yet none of the time we have allocated this year has been as useful to my teaching as the Collaboratory has been. Its fully integrated model of a yearlong team approach to literacy has improved the way I teach dramatically. By reading excerpts of the best research on literacy practices, investigating practices in more depth on the Knowledge Loom website, experimenting with strategies in my classroom, and then planning a lesson that I get observed teaching and receive feedback [on] from a multitude of colleagues, I have become a better teacher. The Collaboratory model is one that we should seek to emulate in order for [all of] our professional development time to be worthwhile.

—Liz Newton, Blackstone Academy Charter School, Rhode Island
Collaboratory Participant, 2004–2005

Two science teachers speak about the Adolescent Literacy Collaboratory:

I have been getting quite a lot out of the Collaboratory. Although I've been familiar with many of the techniques and strategies, this format FORCES you to do it in your classroom. What a help all the feedback is as well. You folks have put together an excellent program and I am very glad that I have had the opportunity to be a part of it.

—Polly Rouhan, Gilford High School, New Hampshire
Collaboratory participant, 2007–2008

This Collaboratory gave me the boost that I needed to try other strategies in the classroom. The support and suggestions from coaches and participants benefited me and allowed me to try things. If they did not work out the first time, I would try them again after I received ideas from others. … [Now] my students are able to better understand their text while reading it. They now have the metacognition skills to apply while they are reading any text. After our last project of writing science fiction short stories, I also feel that they are better writers and even attacked this project with excitement.

—Miriam Hill, Licking Middle and High School, Missouri
Collaboratory Participant, 2004–2005

An English teacher speaks about the Adolescent Literacy Collaboratory:

I have started using the K-W-L Chart and the Anticipation Guide and I find students seem more involved in the lesson when I use these strategies. … The first time using the Anticipation Guide was a small disaster. However, after showing [my team leader] the model Guide I used, she recommended using the one that the Collaboratory uses… Yours was much easier for them to follow.

—Beverly Hendricks, Charlotte Amalie High School, U.S. Virgin Islands
Collaboratory Participant, 2005–2006

Two math teachers speak about the Adolescent Literacy Collaboratory:

I feel excited and energized by the new process of integrating math concepts with literacy comprehension skills, and also by acting as a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Now my students are not focused on me in front of them teaching, but on them taking ownership of their learning. Being able to read a text and use strategies to comprehend the text means that they've learned something they can use in other content areas and in their future lives. And they're much more engaged and focused on completing their tasks because they feel these tasks have a purpose. I've also noticed that at the end of the day I'm not as tired as I am when I teach in the front of the classroom.

—Janet Harriman, Sacopee Valley High School, Maine
Collaboratory participant, 2007–2008

I felt the Collaboratory helped me, no, FORCED me, to think about literacy in the math classroom. I know that many high school math teachers spend all 180 days with lessons and work straight from the math text. Although it is much harder to break away from the text, I found it beneficial to the students to include more literacy in the class. Students found my class less boring because they were forced to read, think, and write math. I learned how to use the text more effectively. Students now know how to find important new information in the text, they know the purpose of the many examples in one chapter, etc.

—Marilyn Fichman, Blackstone Academy Charter School, Rhode Island
Collaboratory Participant, 2004–2005

An administrator speaks about the Adolescent Literacy Collaboratory:

The interactions with team teachers have really impacted the way I approach/will approach PD. … The opportunity to talk with colleagues, share concerns, observe, give feedback has made such a difference in the professional growth of my team. … They are more cognizant not only of strategies that will best engage students, but of the classroom climate, their expectations, and the needs of students. Teachers are more willing to give that extra time after school or to adjust assignments to fit the needs or special circumstances of students. I think that they really see the link between their actions and student achievement.

—Barbara Callwood, assistant principal, Charlotte Amalie High School, U.S. Virgin Islands
Collaboratory Team Leader, 2005–2006 & 2006–2007