Severe Reading Difficulties--Can They Be Prevented? A Comparison of Prevention and Intervention Approaches [Text emphasis vs. comparison]
Scanlon, Donna M.; Vellutino, Frank R.; Small, Sheila G.; Fanuele, Diane P.; Sweeney, Joan M. (2005). Exceptionality, v13 n4 p209-227 2005.
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examining114Students, grade1
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: March 2023
- Practice Guide (findings for Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005))
- 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 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Business as usual |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
93.22 |
89.03 |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Phonological Skills Emphasis |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
93.22 |
91.86 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - Revised: Word Identification |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Business as usual |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
99.59 |
93.66 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test -Revised (WRMT-R): Basic Skills Cluster |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Business as usual |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
98.29 |
93.56 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - Revised: Word Attack |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Business as usual |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
96.19 |
92.12 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - Revised: Word Identification |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Phonological Skills Emphasis |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
100.36 |
99.50 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test -Revised (WRMT-R): Basic Skills Cluster |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Phonological Skills Emphasis |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
98.35 |
99.27 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - Revised: Word Attack |
Remedial assistance for severe reading difficulties—Scanlon et al. (2005) vs. Phonological Skills Emphasis |
8 Months |
Full sample;
|
94.48 |
97.88 |
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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Other or unknown: 100% -
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New York
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in in Albany, New York.
Intervention Group
Teachers led a one-on-one intervention with an emphasis on reading and rereading text. The majority of each session was spent on reading new text and rereading familiar text. Additionally, the teacher implemented 5-minute instruction on each of the following topics: phonological skills, sight words, and writing. The intervention involved 30-minute sessions daily from mid- October to early June.
Comparison Group
Teachers taught their regular lessons.
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).