March 2004 March 2004 | Volume 61 | Number 6 What Research Says About Reading Pages 74-77 Laying the Groundwork for Literacy The National Early Literacy Panel releases preliminary findings in its synthesis of research on early literacy education. Dorothy S. Strickland and Timothy Shanahan An increasing body of evidence shows that high-quality early education yields long-lasting benefits (Bowman, Donovan, & Burns, 2000; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Educators and policymakers have begun to ask essential questions: What skills and abilities do young children require to help them grow into successful readers and writers? How can we prevent reading difficulties? What roles do school and home play in young children's literacy development? The National Early Literacy Panel, in its ongoing synthesis of early literacy education research, hopes to provide some answers. In 2002, the National Reading Panel released its influential report, Teaching Children to Read, which synthesized some of the scientifically based reading research on students in kindergarten through 12th grade. But no similar research synthesis existed on the topic of early literacy development in children from birth through age 5. Research dealing with early childhood development (Bowman et al., 2000; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000) did not focus on either literacy preparation or evaluating the specific factors that contribute to successful literacy development (Barnett, 1998; Strickland & Barnett, 2003). National Early Literacy Panel The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was created through the Family Partnership in Reading Project, which is funded by the National Institute for Literacy under the auspices of the National Center for Family Literacy. NELP's mission was twofold: to provide a research synthesis on early literacy development that would contribute to education policy and practice decisions affecting early literacy development and to evaluate the role of teachers and families in supporting children's language and literacy development. This evidence would help the National Center for Family Literacy create literacy- specific materials for parents and teachers as well as staff development programs for family literacy practitioners. NELP used methodology consistent with that used by the National Reading Panel (NRP) in its synthesis on reading education research. There are some important differences, however. Like NRP, NELP conducted extensive and rule-based searches of the key education databases. But NELP has a broader perspective than NRP, considering early writing and spelling development as well as reading. For inclusion in the synthesis, studies had to meet some basic selection criteria. Studies had to be published in English in refereed journals and had to report empirical research on children up to the age of 5 (or through kindergarten). NELP set out to answer four basic questions about early literacy development: