Abstract
How effective is a programmed linguistically-based graphemic option reading approach compared to an eclectic approach with rural disadvantaged children in grades one and two? That is the question this investigator sought to answer with this study.
The experimental subjects worked with The Sound Reading Program, a programmed linguistically-based reading approach offering a largely self-instructional program for teaching the basic decoding and processing skills for one hour each school day over a three-month period. The control group continued in the regular ongoing reading program which can best be described as eclectic. The control group did not receive other linguistically-based reading materials or programmed reading materials.
Although there was no evidence found in this particular experiment to indicate that the treatment was effective for grade one, this study supports the treatment effect for grade two in both comprehension and word recognition. Furthermore, black subjects in the grade two experimental group were superior to white subjects, while in the control group the results were reversed. Finally, in the grade two experimental group the reading achievement of the boys was equal to the reading achievement of the girls.