Evaluation of "System 44." Final Report [2012]
Beam, Margaret, Faddis, Bonnie (2012). RMC Research Corporation. . Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED613692
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examining317Students, grades4-8
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: April 2022
- Single Study Review (findings for System 44)
- 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 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
19.35 |
18.47 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
57.71 |
58.02 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
23.71 |
24.05 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
42.95 |
42.61 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Letter Name Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
10.76 |
10.72 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Pre decoders;
|
20.97 |
17.60 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
English language learners;
|
46.95 |
41.22 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Nonsense Word Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
19.50 |
18.04 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Nonsense Word Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
20.95 |
19.59 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
17.95 |
17.53 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Developing decoders;
|
21.49 |
19.51 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Developing decoders;
|
47.53 |
45.03 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Beginning decoders;
|
18.38 |
16.98 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
19.38 |
17.72 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Pre decoders;
|
47.10 |
44.20 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
39.38 |
39.24 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Beginning decoders;
|
52.47 |
49.56 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Letter Name Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
10.78 |
10.70 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Developing decoders;
|
66.53 |
63.87 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Beginning decoders;
|
19.59 |
17.50 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Pre decoders;
|
25.19 |
23.70 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Beginning decoders;
|
39.23 |
38.76 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Developing decoders;
|
28.68 |
28.39 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
17.11 |
17.43 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Sight Word Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
19.88 |
21.20 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Sight Word Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
22.00 |
23.01 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Pre decoders;
|
53.36 |
54.40 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
22.69 |
19.53 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Black; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
19.08 |
17.96 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 4, 5;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 4, 5;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 4, 5;
|
N/A |
N/A |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 6, 7, 8;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 6, 7, 8;
|
N/A |
N/A |
No |
-- | ||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Hispanic or Latino;
|
18.07 |
20.62 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP): Phoneme Elision subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
19.36 |
18.42 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
43.14 |
42.35 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
23.81 |
23.70 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
57.84 |
57.86 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
58.28 |
54.74 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Black; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
57.54 |
58.33 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Sight Word Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Hispanic or Latino;
|
57.47 |
58.83 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
26.72 |
23.12 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Black; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
23.32 |
23.46 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Hispanic or Latino;
|
23.70 |
28.26 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
36.25 |
35.35 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Accuracy |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Black; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
42.83 |
42.75 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
427.70 |
381.20 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
153.00 |
162.00 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Beginning decoders;
|
352.89 |
260.89 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
17.76 |
13.69 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
323.65 |
299.53 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Developing decoders;
|
533.17 |
458.85 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Pre decoders;
|
275.55 |
226.80 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Developing decoders;
|
23.97 |
23.02 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Beginning decoders;
|
12.13 |
12.66 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Pre decoders;
|
15.30 |
17.10 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
21.80 |
19.59 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Black; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
17.36 |
18.46 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Hispanic or Latino;
|
18.87 |
20.22 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 4, 5;
|
N/A |
N/A |
No |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 6, 7, 8;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 4, 5;
|
N/A |
N/A |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade: 6, 7, 8;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
417.20 |
367.21 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
18.05 |
18.45 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
472.69 |
458.06 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Black; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
399.46 |
360.06 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Hispanic or Latino;
|
505.53 |
393.67 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
14.65 |
14.35 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
English language learners;
|
22.67 |
16.22 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Sight Word Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
6.61 |
6.18 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
11.74 |
11.54 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Beginning decoders;
|
11.38 |
9.90 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Sight Word Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
8.35 |
8.16 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Nonsense Word Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
6.30 |
6.19 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Developing decoders;
|
18.04 |
17.46 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Nonsense Word Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students with learning disabilities;
|
5.14 |
5.35 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Pre decoders;
|
10.40 |
15.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
14.86 |
14.26 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
16.00 |
13.65 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Black; Not Hispanic or Latino;
|
14.45 |
14.33 |
-- |
-- | ||
|
Scholastic Phonics Inventory (SPI): Overall Fluency |
System 44 vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
White; Hispanic or Latino;
|
16.07 |
16.60 |
-- |
-- | ||
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.
-
5% English language learners -
Female: 40%
Male: 60% -
Urban
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Michigan
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Race Black 78% Other or unknown 12% White 10% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 11% Not Hispanic or Latino 89%
Study Details
Setting
The study was conducted in 16 schools—12 elementary schools, 2 K-8 schools, and 2 middle schools—in an urban, predominantly low-income school district in Michigan which serves around 9,000 students.
Study sample
The study included a total of 317 students in grades 4 to 8. Students were eligible for the study if they scored as beginning or developing readers on a standardized reading assessment. Overall, most students in the study were male (around 60%), and 96% qualified for free or reduced-price lunch. Approximately half had a learning disability and 5% were English language learners. Seventy-eight percent were Black, 10% were White, and 12% were another race. Eleven percent were Hispanic or Latino and 89% were non-Hispanic or Latino.
Intervention Group
System 44 is a foundational reading program intended to help students who need additional support in reading master basic phonics and decoding skills. The program combines instruction through an adaptive computer component, teacher-led small-group instruction, and individual student practice. The program has 25 sequential series, each of which covers 5 to 8 topics. The program is structured to be offered daily in a 60-minute class period, where approximately 20 minutes is designated for computer-delivered instruction; 20 minutes for reading System 44 branded library books, completing book logs, and taking Scholastic Reading Counts quizzes; and 20 minutes for in whole-class or small-group instruction or individual conferencing with the teacher. Most of the elementary schools in the study used a pull-out model, where students were taken out of scheduled class time to receive the intervention. In the two middle schools in the study, the intervention was used in place of a reading class in one middle school while the other middle school pulled students out of a study skills class.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual reading instruction in grades 4 to 8. For students who needed additional support in reading, this instruction varied across the schools in the study because there was no uniform alternative to the System 44 intervention. For special education students, this could have included pull-out supplemental instruction from resource room instructors. For all students, it could have included in-class assistance from instructional aides, and after-school tutoring. The most common reading curricula used in the study schools was Houghton-Mifflin, Read Naturally, ReadAbout, SRA Decoding, Fast ForWord, SuccessMaker, and Reading A–Z.
Support for implementation
Intervention group teachers attended a 1-day training, a follow up training, and monthly coaching visits from System 44 staff. The study team conducted three observations per year of the classroom and of professional development sessions to assess teachers’ ability to implement the intervention with fidelity, including maintaining a positive learning environment, providing support to students, pacing lessons appropriately, and executing lessons effectively.
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.
-
RMC Research. (2020). Research update Saginaw Public Schools. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. https://s3.amazonaws.com/prod-hmhco-vmg-craftcms-public/research/Saginaw-Research-Results-Paper_FO.pdf.
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).