Huffstetter, M. (2005). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida, Tampa. (68813195).
Reviewed: October 2009
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.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for Headsprout Early Reading.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Test of Language Development-Primary III (TOLD-PIII) |
Headsprout Early Reading vs. Millie's Math House |
Posttest |
4-year-olds;
|
11.00 |
2.29 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Test of Early Reading Ability III (TERA-III) |
Headsprout Early Reading vs. Millie's Math House |
Posttest |
4-year-olds;
|
9.55 |
0.84 |
Yes |
|
|
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Black | 84% |
| Hispanic | 13% | |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 87% |
This study took place in a city on the east coast of Florida.
This investigation was conducted with 4-year-old children in two Head Start preschool centers in a city on the east coast of Florida. The two Head Start centers were randomly chosen from the five Head Start centers in the Florida city. Parental consent was obtained for 62 children, who were randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the comparison group using a table of random numbers. There were 31 children in the experimental group and 31 children in the control group. In the sample, 84 percent of the children were African-American, 55 percent were male, and 52 percent spoke English as a second language.
The experimental group received 30 minutes of daily instruction in the Headsprout Reading Basics™ program for an 8-week period. The computers were housed in the mobile computer lab.
The control group received 30 minutes of daily instruction in Millie’s Math House® for an 8-week period. Millie’s Math House® is software that uses cartoon characters to build math skills, such as counting, addition, and subtraction
Children were pre- and posttested on two tests; one on oral language competency and the other on print knowledge. For a more detailed description of these outcome measures, see Appendices A2.1–2.2.
Prior to the intervention, the study’s principal investigator trained teachers and assistant teachers on two separate days at the two sites. The training consisted of oral explanations, modeling, and guided teacher practice. Teachers also were given access to the Headsprout Reading Basics™ episodes and the Millie’s Math House® software for review prior to their students reaching each episode. Teachers were trained to respond to technology issues (e.g., volume adjustments), to access and decipher reports, and to intervene and redirect (i.e., use a minimum amount of gesturing or gentle physical guidance to return student to engagement in task) when necessary. For reference purposes, teachers and teachers’ assistants also were given a copy of the implementation checklists that were used to monitor implementation integrity.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).
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