A Randomized Control Study of Instructional Approaches for Struggling Adult Readers [Extensive Reading]
Greenberg, Daphne; Wise, Justin C.; Morris, Robin; Fredrick, Laura D.; Rodrigo, Victoria; Nanda, Alice O.; Pae, Hye K. (2011). Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, v4 n2 p101-117. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ920171
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examining62Students
Publication
Review Details
Reviewed: January 2021
- Publication (findings for Adult Education)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a compromised randomized controlled trial, but 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
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock Johnson (WJ): Word Attack subtest |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample –Extensive Reading vs Business as usual;
|
11.67 |
15.60 |
Yes |
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock Johnson (WJ): Passage Comprehension subtest |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample –Extensive Reading vs Business as usual;
|
22.19 |
23.92 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gray Oral Reading Tests, Fourth Edition (GORT-4): Fluency subtest |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample –Extensive Reading vs Business as usual;
|
40.98 |
40.00 |
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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56% English language learners -
Female: 67%
Male: 33% -
Race Asian 12% Black 55% Other or unknown 28% White 6% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 28% Not Hispanic or Latino 72%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in 23 adult literacy programs.
Study sample
The initial sample consisted of 62 learners. There were 198 learners across all four studies. These learners could read between the 2nd and 6th grade levels. About 55 percent of learners were African American, 28 percent were Hispanic, 12 percent were Asian, and 6 percent were White. Sixty-seven percent were female. Fifty-six percent were English language learners, and the rest were native English speakers. Twenty-nine percent of learners repeated at least one grade of school; 15 percent attended special education classes while in school; and 49 percent reported graduating from high school.
Intervention Group
Extensive Reading (ER) is extended reading practice using an extensive library of high interest/low vocabulary books. Learners engaged in sustained silent reading—an activity in which the teacher read aloud, and the learner followed along, with a discussion afterward about the books everyone was reading. During each class, time was allocated as follows: two blocks of silent sustained reading of 40 minutes each, 15 minutes of teacher read-aloud activities, 10 minutes of book discussion, and a 5-minute break.
Comparison Group
The comparison group used a popular existing adult literacy curriculum. Teachers were advised to focus on teaching prime frequency words, W-H questions (who, what, when, where, why how), spelling, oral reading, journal writing, categorization of words, sentence structure, and mechanics of punctuation. Books were not used, but teachers could use excerpts based on learners’ interest. Instruction was provided for two hours per class, four times a week, for 12 and a half weeks. The curriculum did not allocate specific amounts of time for each topic. Learners attending all classes received 100 hours of instruction.
Support for implementation
The teachers were hired specifically for the study. They had teaching backgrounds, but none had experience with the approaches in the SRA/McGraw Hill Direct Instruction Corrective Reading program. Each teacher received one week of training in adult literacy awareness and sensitivity, along with training on each approach. Once classes were in session, coaches observed each teacher five times during the year. Teachers received additional training if necessary.
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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Rodrigo, Victoria; Greenberg, Daphne; Segal, Don. (2014). Changes in Reading Habits by Low Literate Adults through Extensive Reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, v26 n1 p73-91.
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.
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Study findings for this report.
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as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).