Reading Effects of IBM’s “Writing to Read” Program: A Review of Evaluations

Abstract

This article reviews evaluations of IBM’s Writing to Read program in kindergartens and first grades. In Writing to Read (WTR), students rotate through five learning stations to learn and practice phonics, to write stories, and to listen to recorded books. Two of these stations involve computers. Twenty-one studies of Writing to Read in kindergartens found a median effect size of 0.23, but in many cases this effect may be due to comparisons of WTR with nonacademic programs. Across 13 first-grade studies, the median effect size was .00. Two-year (K-l) implementations and one-year follow-up studies found no consistent achievement effects. The commercial success of WTR is discussed in light of these disappointing findings and of the existence of more effective and far less expensive alternatives