WWC review of this study

Washington Striving Readers: Year 1 evaluation report.

Deussen, T., Scott, C., Nelsestuen, K., Roccograndi, A., & Davis, A. (2012). Portland, OR: Education Northwest. . Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED565842

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    401
     Students
    , grades
    6-8

Reviewed: December 2022

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Alphabetics 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 (WRMT): Word Attack subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 1: Phonics Blitz followed by Read to Achieve;
63 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT): Word Attack subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
357 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT): Word Attack subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 2: Read to Achieve;
294 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT): Word Identification subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
357 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT): Word Identification subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 2: Read to Achieve;
294 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT): Word Identification subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 1: Phonics Blitz followed by Read to Achieve;
63 students

N/A

N/A

No

--
Comprehension outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Washington Measure of Student Progress

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 2: Read to Achieve;
325 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Washington Measure of Student Progress

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
401 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests (GMRT): Comprehension subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 1: Phonics Blitz followed by Read to Achieve;
63 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Washington Measure of Student Progress

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 1: Phonics Blitz followed by Read to Achieve;
76 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests (GMRT): Comprehension subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
358 students

N/A

N/A

No

--

Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests (GMRT): Comprehension subtest

Washington Striving Readers vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Group 2: Read to Achieve;
295 students

N/A

N/A

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.


  • 13% English language learners
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    Washington

Setting

Five Title I middle schools in western Washington State. The intervention was implemented 2010-2011.

Study sample

The students in the study were in grade 6-8. Over half of the students in the study were male and eligible for free/reduced-price lunch. English learners (ELs) made up 13% of the sample, and 6% of the sample was eligible for special education but did not have an Individualized Education Plan in reading.

Intervention Group

Group 1 received Phonics Blitz followed by Read to Achieve. Group 2 received Read to Achieve. Phonics Blitz , 2nd edition, is primarily a reading decoding program that involves explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. There are 50 teacher-led lessons with sequenced activities; the average completion rate of the lessons was 50%. As implemented the pacing was behind schedule (took longer to get through lessons, lower number of instructional days than anticipated) leading to low lesson completion ratings; teachers had high fidelity to the components. There were up to 9 students per class. Read to Achieve primarily involves comprehension strategies, vocabulary strategies, fluency strategies and higher-order thinking skills. The curriculum includes two components: content area reading (25 units of 5 lessons each) and narrative reading (15 units with 5 lessons each). For Group 1, the average completion rate of the lessons was 32%, for Group 2 it was 79%. Both components emphasize comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. There was strict fidelity to content and format of lessons and high fidelity to the program. There were up to 13 students per class.

Comparison Group

The intent was for the comparison group to participate in regular ELA class like intervention students, but not receive any supplemental reading instruction (e.g., had a study hall or an elective). When 3 of the 5 schools started offering other reading interventions, comparison students were either barred from participating or all Striving Readers students (intervention and comparison) in the school who participated in the other intervention were removed from the study. They authors note that they did not collect data on whether students participated in after school assistance or tutoring.

Support for implementation

Six teachers were hired for these interventions. They participated in initial summer training, up to 6 additional days of group training during the year, and one 6-hour on-site training. Teachers were also to meet 1:1 with a coach, up to 14 times/year. Administrators were encouraged, but not required, to attend the first half day of the summer training and allowed to participate in other trainings.

Reviewed: March 2016

Meets WWC standards without reservations


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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