Evaluation of the Expository Reading and Writing Course: Findings from the Investing in Innovation Development Grant
Fong, Anthony B.; Finkelstein, Neal D.; Jaeger, Laura M.; Diaz, Rebeca; Broek, Marie E. (2015). WestEd. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED559522
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examining6,618Students, grade12
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: June 2023
- Practice Guide (findings for Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a cluster quasi-experimental design that provides evidence of effects on individuals by satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the individuals in the analytic intervention and comparison groups.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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California State University English Placement Test |
Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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141.93 |
140.83 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 51%
Male: 49% -
Rural, Suburban, Town, Urban
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California
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Race Asian 23% Black 5% Other or unknown 46% White 26% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 46% Not Hispanic or Latino 54% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in grade 12 English language arts classrooms across 24 high schools in nine school districts in California. Most of the schools were located in urban areas but six were classified as suburban and three as rural.
Study sample
A total of 4,941 students in grade 12 English language arts classrooms were included in the study: 3,309 students in the intervention schools, and 1,632 students in the comparison schools. For the analyses, comparison students were reweighted to match the intervention group sample size. Thus, the full study sample included 6,618 students. The study classrooms were taught by 56 teachers in the intervention schools and 58 teachers in the comparison schools. Approximately 51% of the students in the study sample were female. Twenty-six percent of the students were White, 23% were Asian, 5% were Black, and 46% did not report race. Forty-six percent of the students were Hispanic or Latino. To be included in the study, students needed to perform at the Early Intermediate performance level on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) in Grade 11. Students who were receiving special education services or who were receiving English instruction from a novice teacher were excluded from the study.
Intervention Group
Students in the intervention schools received the year-long Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) program that was developed by a task force of California State University faculty and high school educators to improve student literacy skills and better prepare them for college-level English courses. The ERWC is a program that consists of a classroom curriculum, teacher professional learning, and curriculum materials for teachers and students. The curriculum includes 12 modules. Each module has three parts: Reading Rhetorically, Connecting Reading to Writing, and Writing Rhetorically. Teachers are expected to teach 8 to 10 of the modules and one full-length book each semester. In this study, 63% of the intervention teachers taught at least 8 of 12 modules. However, the study reported that just 18% of intervention teachers delivered at least 8 modules with adequate fidelity.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison schools received business-as-usual grade 12 English language arts instruction typically offered at their schools. About 45% of students in the comparison group enrolled in English 4 in grade 12, and about 46% enrolled in AP English Literature; the remainder enrolled in World Literature or another course.
Support for implementation
As a condition of becoming eligible to teach the ERWC course, intervention teachers participated in 20 hours of professional learning prior to the study period. Intervention teachers participated in additional professional learning over the study period, which included a two-day summer session, professional learning community meetings, and coaching sessions. The study reported that 96% of teachers attended both days of the summer session, 95% participated in coaching, and 73% participated in professional learning community meetings.
Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2020
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Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively Practice Guide
(findings for Secondary Writing)
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
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California English Placement Test |
Secondary Writing vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 51%
Male: 49% -
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California
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Race Asian 23% Black 5% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 46% Not Hispanic or Latino 54%
Study Details
Setting
The study takes place in 24 California high schools in 9 school districts, focusing on eligible 12th grade students.
Study sample
Sample characteristics for the intervention and comparison conditions were identical for the analytic sample: 51% female, 5% black, 23% Asian, 46% Hispanic, and 13% took AP English in 11th grade.
Intervention Group
ERWC is a yearlong English Language Arts course for 12th grade high school students. It consists of 12 modules. Teachers receive the specified curriculum, professional development training on the course, and materials to support the curriculum. To teach the course, a teacher must complete 20 hours of professional learning activities. Only 10 of the 56 ERWC teachers in the study (17.9%) taught at least 8 of the modules (meaning at least one activity in each of the module's 6 strands). 62.5% of the teachers taught at least 5 activities from at least 8 of the modules. The study assessed fidelity of the intervention by collecting implementation feedback charts, coaching logs, and professional learning community logs from teachers. The study also conducted a qualitative survey with ERWC teachers to receive feedback on their teaching experience with the course.
Comparison Group
Comparison students were enrolled in a non-ERWC English course. For the weighted analytic sample of 3,309 comparison students, 62.57% were enrolled in English 4, 25.26% were enrolled in AP English Literature, 10.85% were enrolled in world literature, and 1.32% were enrolled in other English courses such as English literature or Mexican Chicano literature. None of their teachers were concurrently teaching ERWC classes.
Support for implementation
ERWC teachers all participated in a 20-hour professional learning course. They also had the opportunity to attend a two-day summer professional-learning session, participate in professional learning community meetings, and receive coaching sessions. The study concluded that 82.1% of the teachers participated in sufficient professional-learning components of the intervention and all teachers received the curriculum materials.
Department-funded evaluation
Review Details
Reviewed: August 2016
- Department-funded evaluation (findings for Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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English Placement Test |
Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 52%
Male: 48% -
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California
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Race Asian 27% Black 4% White 24% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 45% Not Hispanic or Latino 55%
Study Details
Setting
This study took place in nine California school districts, with a total of 24 participating high schools. In the primary analyses, there were a total of 56 teachers in the Intervention condition (ERWC) and 58 teachers in the comparison condition. The number of teachers in the analytic sample from sensitivity analysis #3, which is reviewed here by the WWC, is not reported.
Study sample
The overall sample included 52% female, 4% African American, 27% Asian, 45% Hispanic, and 24% White students.
Intervention Group
The intervention condition was a year-long academic reading and writing course implemented by teachers who a) agreed to participate in the intervention group and b) attended both summer professional development for the intervention training and ongoing, professional development while teaching the intervention course. The intervention condition was an Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) designed to improve students' English language arts skills. Teachers participated in two days of face-to-face summer professional development prior to implementing the ERWC. Intervention teachers also received curriculum materials for use in their classrooms; these materials were developed specifically for the ERWC. Students in the ERWC course received instruction designed to improve reading and writing skills, with a special focus on reading and writing rhetorically. The curriculum modules were built along three primary domains: a) reading rhetorically, b) connecting reading to writing, and c) writing rhetorically. Students also practice analytical writing skills (e.g., summative essays, timed writing exercises, and writing in response to prompts).
Comparison Group
The comparison condition was a business-as-usual and included students' participation in their non-ERWC English language arts courses.
Support for implementation
Teachers in the intervention condition participated in two days of summer face-to-face professional development as well as ongoing, yearlong professional learning communities and development opportunities during the intervention year. During their professional development, teachers learned to use the curriculum materials, were immersed in the Expository Reading and Writing course objectives and curriculum, and had opportunities to work with other intervention group teachers. Activity logs were kept, and teachers were encouraged to participate in professional learning communities at their school sites along with other intervention group teachers. Teachers were in communication with the research team, and had ongoing opportunities to ask questions and receive support as they worked to teach the ERWC in their schools.
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For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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