Comparing Technology-Based Reading Intervention Programs in Rural Settings
Stein, B. N., Solomon, B. G., Kitterman, C., Enos, D., Banks, E., & Villanueva, S. (2021). The Journal of Special Education, 00224669211014168. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00224669211014168.
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examining46Students, grades1-4
Grant Competition
Review Details
Reviewed: November 2021
- Grant Competition (findings for Lexia Reading)
- 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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Basic Reading - Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement IV |
Lexia Reading vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Lexia vs BAU;
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90.26 |
87.87 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Broad Reading - Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement IV |
Lexia Reading vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Lexia vs BAU;
|
83.43 |
79.91 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fastbridge readingCBM |
Lexia Reading vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Lexia vs BAU;
|
74.61 |
73.48 |
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: 52%
Male: 48% -
Rural
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Midwest
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Race Black 2% Native American 25% Other or unknown 4% White 69%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in one public elementary school located in a rural midwestern state.
Study sample
Forty-eight percent of the students were male, 25 percent were American Indian, 2 percent were African American, 69 percent were Caucasian, and 4 percent identified as "other" or multiethnic. Sixty-one percent received free or reduced-price lunch.
Intervention Group
Lexia is an integrated learning system that provides individual instruction and practice to students using an electronic device. Lexia includes a pre-assessment that places students at the appropriate level, formative adaptive testing, and extension exercises for students who are nonresponsive. Lexia organizes instruction around six thematic strands including: phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Difficulty increases as the students move to higher levels and sets of activities. The program can also offer recommendations for extended time on the follow-up activities, and will generate class and student progress reports.
Comparison Group
The comparison condition received instruction with no supplemental activities as usual.
Support for implementation
A staff member from the school received training to serve as the primary interventionist or reading specialist.
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).