WWC review of this study

Effects of Two Tutoring Programs on the English Reading Development of Spanish-English Bilingual Students

Denton, Carolyn A.; Anthony, Jason L.; Parker, Richard; Hasbrouck, Jan E. (2004). Elementary School Journal, v104 n4 p289. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ696176

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    60
     Students
    , grades
    2-5

Reviewed: July 2013



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

Study sample characteristics were not reported.

Reviewed: March 2013



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

Study sample characteristics were not reported.

Reviewed: July 2010

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards with reservations
Reading achievement outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test Revised (WRMT-R): Passage Comprehension subtest

Read Naturally vs. Business as Usual

10 weeks

2nd-5th grade;
60 students

90.45

89.28

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test Revised (WRMT–R): Word Identification subtest

Read Naturally vs. Business as Usual

10 weeks

2nd-5th grade;
60 students

95.37

95.94

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test Revised (WRMT-R): Word Attack subtest

Read Naturally vs. Business as Usual

10 weeks

2nd-5th grade;
60 students

96.74

98.04

No

--


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.


  • 100% English language learners

  • Female: 48%
    Male: 52%
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    Texas
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    100%

Setting

The study took place as a pull-out tutoring program in five elementary schools in a central Texas district. During the school year, the district served a population of 43.1% Hispanic students; 56.2% of children in the district were identified as economically disadvantaged; 9% had limited English proficiency; and 7.3% were served by a bilingual or ESL program.

Study sample

The study included a group of 93 students between second and fifth grade who were bilingual with Spanish as their native language, were recommended by their teacher for tutoring, and had standardized assessments suggesting they had adequate oral English proficiency and basic proficiency in reading Spanish. The students were enrolled in 17 bilingual classrooms in five schools. Students’ ages ranged from 7 to 12 years with a mean age of 9 years; 48 were males and 45 were females. Students were assigned to one of two reading ability groups based on their scores on the Word Attack subtest of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests–Revised (WRMT-R). Students with scores below first grade equivalency were assigned to the “emergent” decoding group (Read Well), and those with scores above first grade equivalency were in the “established” decoding group (Read Naturally®). Within each of these groups, students were matched on pretest scores and randomly assigned to either the treatment or comparison group. A total of 63 students were initially assigned in the Read Naturally® study (32 in the treatment group and 31 in the control group). Three students originally assigned to the control group participated in the treatment and were ultimately dropped from the study. Additionally, three students originally assigned to the treatment group were moved to the comparison group one week after the study had begun (as requested by one of the participating schools). As a result of these changes, the study was treated as a quasi-experimental design that meets WWC evidence standards with reservations. The Read Naturally® analysis sample consisted of 60 students (32 treatment and 28 comparison).

Intervention Group

The intervention occurred during pull-out tutoring sessions during the school day when the participants were not receiving their English instruction. Students in the Read Naturally® Masters Edition group were tutored three times per week for 40-minute periods over 10 weeks. The sessions consisted of repeated oral reading of connected text, vocabulary and comprehension instruction, and systematic monitoring of progress in the program. The standard Read Naturally® Masters Edition program was modified for use with English language learners by adding and extending activities related to vocabulary, decoding, and comprehension (such as oral discussions of vocabulary and comprehension and preteaching important or challenging vocabulary in reading passages).

Comparison Group

The comparison condition received the same regular education curriculum as the treatment group but did not receive any additional tutoring beyond what would have been part of the schools’ business-as-usual approach.

Outcome descriptions

The study measures in the reading achievement domain included three subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test–Revised: Word Attack, Word Identification, and Passage Comprehension. (For a more detailed description of these outcome measures, see Appendices A2.1–A2.2.)

Support for implementation

Tutors were 23 undergraduate students enrolled in a class in teaching students with difficulties. Tutors received training in the implementation of both the Read Naturally® and Read Well programs as part of their course instruction. They were supervised by a graduate student experienced in Read Naturally®.

In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.

  • Denton, C. A. (2000). The efficacy of two English interventions in a bilingual education program (Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(11), 4325A. (UMI No. 9994233).

Reviewed: June 2010

Meets WWC standards with reservations


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.


  • 100% English language learners

  • Female: 48%
    Male: 52%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    100%

In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.

  • Denton, C. A. (2000). The efficacy of two English interventions in a bilingual education program (Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(11), 4325A. (UMI No. 9994233).

 

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