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Overview
DaisyQuest is a software bundle that offers computer-assisted instruction in phonological awareness, targeting children aged three to seven years (or preschool to second grade). The instructional activities, framed in a fairy tale involving a search for a friendly dragon named Daisy, teach children how to recognize words that rhyme; words that have the same beginning, middle, and ending sounds; and words that can be formed from a series of phonemes presented separately, as well as how to count the number of sounds in words. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) also reviewed the effects of DaisyQuest on the beginning reading skills of children in kindergarten through third grade and the findings are reported in a separate WWC intervention report.
Research
Two studies of DaisyQuest met the WWC evidence standards.1 Together these studies included 68 preschool children from Tallahassee, Florida, and Orem, Utah, and examined intervention effects on phonological processing. The children studied were from families with low to middle socioeconomic status. This report focuses on immediate posttest findings to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.2
Effectiveness
DaisyQuest was found to have positive effects on phonological processing.
| Oral language | Print knowledge | Phonological processing | Early reading/ writing | Cognition | Math | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | Not reported | Not reported | Positive effects | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| Improvement index3 | Not reported | Not reported | Average: +25 percentile points Range: -13 to +34 percentile points |
Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
Absence of conflict of interest
The WWC ECE topic team works with two principal investigators: Dr. Ellen Eliason Kisker and Dr. Christopher Lonigan. The studies on DaisyQuest reviewed by the ECE team included one study on which Dr. Lonigan was the primary author. Dr. Lonigan’s financial interests are not affected by the success or failure of DaisyQuest, nor does he receive any royalties or other monetary return from the use of DaisyQuest. Dr. Lonigan was not involved in the decision to include the study in the review, and he was not involved in the coding, reconciliation, or discussion of the included study. Dr. Kisker led all review activities related to the study. The decision to review DaisyQuest was made by Dr. Kisker, as co-principal investigator, in collaboration with the rest of the ECE team following prioritization of interventions based on the results of the literature review. This report on DaisyQuest was reviewed by a group of independent reviewers, including members of the WWC Technical Review Team and external peer reviewers.
2 The evidence presented in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
3 These numbers show the average and the range of improvement indices for all findings across the studies.