|
|
The WWC reviewed 115 studies of the effectiveness of Fast ForWord® on beginning reading outcomes. Five studies (Borman & Benson, 2006; Scientific Learning Corporation, 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, and 2006) were randomized controlled trials that met WWC evidence standards.4 One other study (Overbay & Baenen, 2003) was a quasi-experimental design that met WWC standards with reservations. The remaining studies did not meet WWC evidence screens.
Met evidence standards
The Borman & Benson (2006) study included 112 academically at-risk second-grade students attending four urban schools in Baltimore, Maryland. Sixty students received the Fast ForWord® Language program as a supplemental targeted pullout program during the regular school day. The 52 students in the comparison group received non-literacy instruction or participated in special activities and classes, such as art and gym, for their supplemental instruction.
The Scientific Learning Corporation (2005a) study included 197 first- and second-grade students attending schools in three school districts. Students in the intervention group (75 first- and 23 second-grade students) used Fast ForWord® to Reading 1 . Students in the comparison group (78 first- and 21 second-grade students) used only the regular school curriculum.
The Scientific Learning Corporation (2005b) study included a broad range of 50 third-grade students from a school in Lancaster, South Carolina. Twenty-five intervention group students used Fast ForWord® to Reading 2. The 25 comparison group students used only the regular school curriculum.
The Scientific Learning Corporation (2005c) study included 15 second- and 23 third-grade students who were struggling readers from a school in Fern Park, Florida. The 20 intervention group students used Fast ForWord® to Reading 1 or 2. The 18 comparison group students used only the regular school curriculum.
Met evidence standards with reservations
The Overbay & Baenen (2003) study compared 71 third-grade students from schools in the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina that used elements of the Fast ForWord® program with 71 third-grade students from non- Fast ForWord® schools. The students were matched on demographic factors and reading pretest scores.
The WWC categorizes the extent of evidence in each domain as small or medium to large (see the What Works Clearinghouse Extent of Evidence Categorization Scheme). The extent of evidence takes into account the number of studies and the total sample size across the studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations.5
The WWC considers the extent of evidence for Fast ForWord® to be small for alphabetics and comprehension. No studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations addressed fluency or general reading achievement.
|Institute of Education Sciences
