WWC review of this study

Effect of a Combined Repeated Reading and Question Generation Intervention on Reading Achievement [Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) vs. business as usual]

Therrien, William J.; Wickstrom, Katherine; Jones, Kevin (2006). Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, v21 n2 p89-97. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ736475

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    29
     Students
    , grades
    4-8

Reviewed: November 2021

At least one finding shows promising evidence of effectiveness
At least one statistically significant positive finding
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Measures of general reading proficiency and English Language Arts outcomes—Substantively important positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Broad Reading Score: Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement

Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
29 students

86.60

86.00

No

--
Passage reading fluency-oral outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Oral Reading Fluency Rate: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)

Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
29 students

81.40

80.21

Yes

 
 
31
 


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • Female: 47%
    Male: 54%

  • Rural
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    Ohio

Setting

The study was conducted in a rural school district in Ohio.

Study sample

Students were in grades 4, 5, 7, or 8 at the time of the study. About half of the sample (53.3%) had a reading disability, and just under half of the sample (46.7%) were identified as having reading failure because they were reading at least two grade levels below their grade level. Just over half (53.5%) of the sample were males. The authors did not provide further details on the characteristics of the students in the sample.

Intervention Group

The study examined the effectiveness of a reading intervention for students struggling with reading. Students received the Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) supplemental intervention. The intervention was delivered individually in a pullout setting by trained undergraduate students majoring in special education. Students read a total of 50 passages over a 4-month period. Each session lasted 10-15 minutes. RAAC consisted of 5 steps: (1) the teacher (namely, the undergraduate student serving as the interventionist) asked a student to read a story; (2) the teacher presented a student with a cue card containing a generic story structure with questions and asked students to read questions aloud; and (3) the student reread the passage aloud until they reached a specified reading fluency (as measured by the number of correct words per minute). Regardless of reading fluency, a student read each passage 2-4 times with the teacher providing feedback on word errors. If students hesitated for three seconds or missed a word, the teacher provided correction immediately. Otherwise, errors were corrected after the passage was read but before it was reread. After the last passage, the teacher prompted a student to orally answer cue card questions, helping as needed. Finally, the teacher asked factual and inferential comprehension questions about the passage. The session ended and the steps were repeated at the next session with the teacher adjusting the reading materials for the subsequent session based on the student’s performance at the current session.

Comparison Group

Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual instruction.

Support for implementation

The undergraduate students that implemented the intervention participated in two three-hour training sessions and practiced delivering the intervention sessions until they demonstrated 100% accuracy on an integrity checklist. The interventionists were monitored during implementation with students, and if they demonstrated less than 90% accuracy on the implementation checklist, they received additional training.

 

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