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Overview1 , 2
Read Naturally is designed to improve reading fluency using a combination of books, audiotapes, and computer software. According to the developer's website, this program has three main strategies: repeated reading of text for developing oral reading fluency, teacher modeling of story reading, and systematic monitoring of student progress by the students themselves and by teachers. Students work at a reading level appropriate for their achievement level, progress through the program at their own rate, and work, for the most part, on an independent basis. The program has two versions. In one, students use audiocassettes or CDs in conjunction with hard-copy reading materials. In the second version students use the Read Naturally computer program alone. The Read Naturally program is designed to increase time spent reading.
Research
One study of Read Naturally met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards and one study met WWC evidence standards with reservations. The two studies included 106 students from first and second grades in two elementary schools in Arizona and Georgia. 3 The WWC considers the extent of evidence for Read Naturally to be small for fluency and comprehension. No studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations addressed alphabetics or general reading achievement.
Effectiveness
The Read Naturally program was found to have no discernible effects on fluency and reading comprehension.
| Alphabetics | Fluency | Comprehension | General reading achievement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | na | No discernible effects | No discernible effects | na |
| Improvement index4 | na | Average: +8 percentile points Range: +6 to +9 percentile points |
Average: +2 percentile points Range: –3 to +9 percentile points |
na |
| na = not applicable | ||||
2 The descriptive information for this program was obtained from publicly available sources: the program's website (www.readnaturally.com, retrieved April 2007). The WWC requests developers to review the program description sections for accuracy from their perspective. Further verification of the accuracy of the descriptive information for this program is beyond the scope of this review.
3 The evidence presented in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
4 These numbers show the average and range of improvement indices for all findings across studies.
