WWC review of this study

Attributes of effective and efficient kindergarten reading intervention: An examination of instructional time and design specificity.

Simmons, D. C., Kame’enui, E. J., Harn, B., Coyne, M. D., Stoolmiller, M., Santoro, L. E., Kaufman, N. K. (2007). Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(4), 331–347. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ772549

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    64
     Students
    , grade
    K

Reviewed: February 2023

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Vocabulary development outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Untaught vocabulary

Beginning reading intervention with highly detailed, scripted instruction—Simmons et al. (2007) vs. Open Court Reading©

0 Days

Intervention group vs. Open Court Reading 2000 comparison group;
64 students

12.09

10.77

No

--

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised

Beginning reading intervention with highly detailed, scripted instruction—Simmons et al. (2007) vs. Open Court Reading©

0 Days

Intervention group vs. Open Court Reading 2000 comparison group;
64 students

93.38

94.13

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.

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    West

Setting

The study took place in seven Title I elementary schools in the Pacific Northwest (U.S.).

Study sample

The study did not provide sample characteristics for only the two study groups included in this SRG. The study did provide school-level sample characteristics across all three study groups: 32 to 63 percent of students at each school qualified for free or reduced price lunch, 84 percent were white, 13 percent were Latino/Hispanic, 58 percent were boys, and the mean age in the fall was 5 years 7 months.

Intervention Group

The study compares the effectiveness of three supplemental reading interventions: 1. An author developed intervention (30/H) consisted of 30 minutes of daily, highly structured supplemental reading instruction including phonemic awareness, the alphabet, and spelling. 2. Another author developed intervention (15/H+15) consisted 15 minutes of daily, highly structured supplemental reading instruction covering the same topics as (30/H), and a second 15 minutes of daily instruction focusing on learning vocabulary and understanding stories. 3. A third intervention (30/M) consisted of 30 minutes of daily supplemental instruction focusing on phonemic awareness and letters. The third intervention was based on the Sounds and Letters component of the Open Court Reading 2000 program and is described as "moderately specified" compared to the highly specified design of the first two interventions. This SRG focuses on the comparison of the 15/H+15 (intervention) and 30/M (comparison) study groups. The 15/H+15 intervention consisted of: Teachers and teaching assistants provided groups of 5 or fewer students with highly detailed, scripted instruction that incorporated scaffolding and specific examples for students. The first half of each lesson taught phonological awareness and alphabetic knowledge. The second half focused on understanding story structure, encouraging story retelling, and learning vocabulary through repeated readings of storybooks, targeted vocabulary lessons, and exposing students to vocabulary words multiple times within and across lessons. Instruction involved 108 30-minute lessons daily during supplemental instruction time, either before or after the typical school day.

Comparison Group

Teachers and teaching assistants provided groups of 5 or fewer students with moderately detailed instruction on phonemic awareness and letters, based on the Sounds and Letters component of Open Court Reading 2000.

Support for implementation

No information is provided about the training of the teachers and teaching assistants who implemented the intervention, however interventionists were given feedback by the research team after classroom observations.

Reviewed: October 2014

Does not meet WWC standards


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.
 

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