Several multiple-probe-across-participants design studies were employed to evaluate the effectiveness of a supplemental tutoring intervention using Read Well (Sprick, Howard, & Fidanque, 1998—2000). In Year 1, we conducted two studies with 7 first-, second-, and third-grade children (1 girl and 6 boys), who were classified as having learning disabilities, having attention-deficit disorder, or being English language learners and were identified by their teachers as poor readers. The results of the two studies indicated that 3 of the 5 children who received Read Well instruction showed improvement in passage fluency. Student performance on other measures of reading and comprehension was varied. Differences in student characteristics and in the amount of Read Well instruction received (2 to 7 weeks) seemed to account for the differences in performance. In Year 2, we implemented the same tutoring intervention for a longer duration (up to 16 weeks) and included 5 children in second and third grades (2 girls and 3 boys) with reading difficulties. Two of these children had previously participated in the Year 1 studies. The results indicated growth in reading, spelling, and comprehension for most children. Overall, the findings from Year 1 and 2 studies indicate the benefits of increased instructional intensity and duration for children who struggle with emerging reading skills.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cam-bridge, MA: MIT Press .
2.
America Reads Challenge Act of 1997.
3.
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1990). Acquiring the alphabetic principle: A case for teaching recognition of phoneme identity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 805—812.
4.
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1991). Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 451—455.
5.
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1993). Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children: A 1-year follow-up. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 104—111.
6.
Children's Educational Services. (1987). Standard reading passages—Measures for screening and progress monitoring . Minneapolis: Author.
7.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). New York : Academic Press.
Deno, S.L., Mirkin, P.K., & Chiang, B. (1982). Identifying valid measures of reading. Exceptional Children, 49, 36—45.
10.
Denton, C.A., Parker, R., & Hasbrouck, J.E. (in press). An evaluation of an English literacy tutorial for Spanish—English bilingual students. Elementary School Journal.
11.
Dunlap, W.P., Cortina, J.M., Vaslow, J.B., & Burke, M.J. (1996). Meta-analysis of experiments with matched groups or repeated measures designs. Psychological Methods, 1, 170—177.
12.
Edwards, L. (2003). Writing instruction in kindergarten: Examining an emerging area of research for children with writing and reading difficulties . Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36, 136—148.
13.
Elbaum, B., Vaughn, S., Hughes, M.T., & Moody, S.W. (1999). Grouping practices and reading outcomes for students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 65, 399— 415.
14.
Felton, R.H., & Pepper, P.P. (1995). Early identification and intervention of phonological deficits in kindergarten and early elementary children at risk for reading disability. School Psychology Review, 24, 405—414.
15.
Foorman, B.R., Francis, D.J., Fletcher, J.M., Schatschneider, C., & Mehta, P. (1998). The role of instruction in learning to read: Preventing reading failure in at-risk children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 37—55.
16.
Foorman, B.R., Francis, D.J., Shaywitz, S.E., Shaywitz, B., & Fletcher, J.M. (1997). The case for early reading intervention. In B. Blachman (Ed.), Foundations of reading acquisition: Implications for intervention and dyslexia (pp. 103—115). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
17.
Foorman, B.R., & Torgesen, J. (2001). Critical elements of classroom and smallgroup instruction promote reading success in all children. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16(4), 203—212.
18.
Good, R., III, Simmons, D.C., & Smith, S. (1998). Effective academic interventions in the United States: Evaluating and enhancing the acquisition of early reading skills. Educational and Child Psychology, 15(1), 56—69.
19.
Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 437—447.
20.
Kaminski, R.A., & Good, R.H. (1998). Assessing early literacy skills in a problem-solving model: Dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills. In M. Shinn (Ed.), Advanced applications of curriculum-based measurement (pp. 113—142). New York : Guilford Press.
21.
Kazdin, A.E. (1982). Single-case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. New York: Oxford University Press.
22.
Lyon, G.R. (1997, July). Testimony on children's literacy. Retrieved January15, 2004, from http://mirror.apa.org/ppo-OLD/lyon.html
23.
Lyon, G.R., & Moats, L.C. (1997). Critical conceptual and methodological considerations in reading intervention research. Journal of Learning Disabilities , 30, 578— 588.
24.
Marston, D. (1989). Curriculum-based measurement: What is it and why do it? In M. Shinn (Ed.), Curriculum-based measurement: Assessing special children (pp. 18—78). New York: Guilford Press.
25.
National Center for Education Statistics. ( 1999). National assessment of educational progress (NAEP): Report card for the nation and states. Washington, DC: Author.
26.
National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups. Rockville, MD: NICHD Clearinghouse.
27.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.
28.
Otaiba, S.A., & Fuchs, D. (2002). Characteristics of children who are unresponsive to early literacy intervention: A review of the literature. Remedial and Special Education, 23, 300—316.
29.
Psychological Corp. (1992). Wechsler individual achievment test . San Antonio, TX: Author.
30.
Rashotte, C.A., MacPhee, K., & Torgesen, J.K. (2001). The effectiveness of a group reading instruction program with poor readers in multiple grades. Learning Disability Quarterly, 24, 119—134.
31.
Simmons, D. C., & Kame'enui, E. J. (Eds.). (1998). What the research tells us about children with diverse learning needs: Basis and basics. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
32.
Simmons, D.C., Kame'enui, E.J., Harn, B.A., Edwards, L.L., Coyne, M.C., Thomas-Beck, C., et al. (in press). The effects of instructional emphasis and specificity on the early reading and vocabulary development of kindergarten children in prevention-based reading programs. Journal of Educational Psychology.
33.
Snow, C. E., Burns, S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children . Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
34.
Speece, D.L., & Case, L.P. (2001). Classification in context: An alternative approach to identifying early reading disability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 735—749.
35.
Sprick, M., Howard, L.M., & Fidanque, A. (1998—2000). Read Well: Critical foundations in primary reading. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
36.
Tangel, D.M., & Blachman, B.A. (1992). Effect of phonemic awareness instruction on kindergarten children's invented spelling. Journal of Reading Behavior, 24, 233— 261.
37.
Tangel, D.M., & Blachman, B.A. (1995). Effect of phonemic awareness instruction on the invented spelling of first-grade children: A one-year follow-up . Journal of Reading Behavior, 27, 153—185.
38.
Torgesen, J.K. (1998). Catch them before they fall. American Educator, 22(1), 32— 39.
39.
Torgesen, J.K. (2000). Individual differences in response to early interventions in reading: The lingering problem of treatment resisters. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15, 55—64.
40.
Torgesen, J.K., Alexander, A.W., Wagner, R.K., Rashotte, C.A., Voeller, K., Conway, T., et al. (2001). Intensive remedial instruction for children with severe reading disabilities: Immediate and long-term outcomes from two instructional approaches. Journal of Learning Disabilities , 34, 33—58.
41.
Torgesen, J.K., Wagner, R.K., Rashotte, C.A., Rose, E., Lindamood, P., Conway, T., et al. (1999). Preventing reading failure in young children with phonological processing disabilities: Group and individual responses to instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 1—15.
42.
Wasik, B.A. (1998). Volunteer tutoring programs in reading: A review . Reading Research Quarterly, 33, 266—292.
43.
Wasik, B.A., & Slavin, R.E. (1993). Preventing early reading failure with one-to-one tutoring: A review of five programs. Reading Research Quarterly , 28, 179—200.
44.
Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler intelligence scales for children (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corp.
45.
Wood, D.K., Frank, A.R., & Wacker, D.P. (1998). Teaching multiplication facts to students with learning disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 31, 323— 338.
46.
Woodcock, R. (1987). Woodcock reading mastery test—Revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Zigmond, N. (1997). Educating students with disabilities: The future of special education. In J. W. Lloyd, E. J. Kame'enui, & D. Chard (Eds.), Issues in educating students with disabilities (pp. 377—390). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum .
