
Examining the Efficacy of a Multitiered Intervention for At-Risk Readers in Grade 1
Smith, Jean Louise M.; Nelson, Nancy J.; Fien, Hank; Smolkowski, Keith; Kosty, Derek; Baker, Scott K. (2016). Elementary School Journal, v116 n4 p549-573 . Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1103958
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examining754Students, grade1
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: April 2023
- Single Study Review (findings for Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Does not meet WWC standards because the equivalence of the clusters in the analytic intervention and comparison groups is necessary but the requirement was not satisfied.
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
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
Study sample characteristics were not reported.Additional Sources
In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.
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Fien, Hank; Smith, Jean L. M.; Smolkowski, Keith; Baker, Scott K.; Nelson, Nancy J.; Chaparro, Erin. (2015). An Examination of the Efficacy of a Multitiered Intervention on Early Reading Outcomes for First Grade Students at-Risk for Reading Difficulties.
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Fien, Hank; Nelson, Nancy J.; Smolkowski, Keith; Kosty, Derek; Pilger, Marissa; Baker, Scott King; Smith, Jean Louise Mercier. (2021). A Conceptual Replication Study of the Enhanced Core Reading Instruction MTSS-Reading Model. Exceptional Children, v87 n3 p265-288.
IES Performance Measure
Review Details
Reviewed: March 2019
- IES Performance Measure (findings for Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
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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Woodcock Reading Mastery Test- Revised (WRMT-R): Word Attack subtest |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
0 Months |
Full sample;
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21.72 |
19.30 |
Yes |
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Woodcock Reading Mastery Test- Revised (WRMT-R): Word Identification subtest |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
0 Months |
Full sample;
|
45.44 |
43.20 |
No |
-- | ||
Dynamic Indicators for Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) - Words Recoded Completely (WRC) |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
0 Months |
Full sample;
|
21.84 |
19.20 |
No |
-- | ||
Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
Dynamic Indicators for Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) - Words Recoded Completely (WRC) |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
4 Months |
Full sample;
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16.27 |
13.40 |
Yes |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SAT-10: Total Reading |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
0 Months |
Full sample;
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550.52 |
544.40 |
No |
-- | ||
Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
SAT-10: Word Reading |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
0 Months |
Full sample;
|
541.46 |
530.70 |
No |
-- | ||
SAT-10: Sentence Reading |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
0 Months |
Full sample;
|
560.78 |
553.80 |
No |
-- |
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dynamic Indicators for Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
0 Months |
Full sample;
|
56.39 |
53.60 |
No |
-- | ||
Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
Dynamic Indicators for Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) |
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) vs. Business as usual |
4 Months |
Full sample;
|
30.02 |
25.80 |
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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20% English language learners -
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Massachusetts, Oregon
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Race Black 4% Other or unknown 96% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 19% Not Hispanic or Latino 81%
Study Details
Setting
The study was conducted in two waves. In the first wave, 18 schools in three Oregon school districts were recruited to participate and were randomly assigned. In the second wave (the next school year), 20 schools in three Oregon districts and 8 schools in three Massachusetts districts participated, all of which were randomly assigned. The combined sample thus included 46 schools that were randomly assigned. Of these, 44 schools participated in the study and were included in the analytic sample. The study was conducted in 1st grade classrooms in these schools (pp. 553-554).
Study sample
Of the 811 students in the analytic sample, 3.6 percent (4.3 percent intervention, 3.0 percent comparison) were African American and 18.9 percent (19.8 percent intervention, 18.0 percent comparison) were Hispanic. There were 46.7 percent (48.6 percent intervention, 44.8 percent comparison) of students which were eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch, 19.7 percent (23.7 percent intervention, 15.8 percent comparison) were English learners, and 7.4 percent (6.6 percent intervention, 8.2 percent comparison) received special education services (p. 554).
Intervention Group
Enhanced Core Reading Instruction was implemented during the 90-minute reading block and through a 30-minute small group (3 to 5 students) enhanced instruction. The intervention lasted the duration of the school year. The ECRI intervention prioritizes critical reading content and utilizes explicit instruction. The small group instruction was designed to align closely with the reading block instruction (p. 555).
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison condition received the standard reading instruction typically provided at their schools. The study reported that whole group instruction occurred for an average of 50.0 minutes, 36.7 minutes were spent in small group instruction, and 29.2 minutes were spent doing independent work (p. 556).
Support for implementation
Prior to implementing the intervention, the intervention condition teachers participated in three days of professional development and two days of follow-up training in October. The intervention condition small group instructors participated in two days of professional development and one day of follow-up training in January. ECRI coaches visited classrooms and small group instruction to provide coaching support once per month.
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.
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Study findings for this report.
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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).