Development and Promise of a Vocabulary Intelligent Tutoring System for Second-Grade Latinx English Learners
Baker, Doris Luft; Ma, Hao; Polanco, Paul; Conry, Jillian Marie; Kamata, Akihito; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Ward, Wayne; Cole, Ron (2021). Journal of Research on Technology in Education, v53 n2 p223-247. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1292203
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examining214Students, grade2
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: March 2026
- Single Study Review (findings for Intelligent Tutoring System)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with low cluster-level attrition and individual-level non-response.
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
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests (GMRT): Reading Comprehension subtest |
Intelligent Tutoring System vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample ;
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26.45 |
27.54 |
No |
-- |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (ROWPVT-4), Spanish Bilingual Edition |
Intelligent Tutoring System vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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79.28 |
78.70 |
No |
-- | |
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Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT-4), Spanish Bilingual Edition |
Intelligent Tutoring System vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample ;
|
75.41 |
75.89 |
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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100% English language learners -
Female: 54%
Male: 46% -
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Texas
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 92% No FRPL 8%
Study Details
Setting
The study was conducted in 26 second-grade classrooms across seven schools in the state of Texas. Three charter schools and four non-charter public schools were included. Two of the schools were charter schools with an English-only program. Four of the schools were non-charter public schools with a one-way bilingual program that included mathematics and social studies instruction in English and reading, writing, and science instruction in Spanish. One of the schools was a non-charter public school with a two-way trilingual program in which students received instruction for half the day in English and half the day in Spanish, along with 30 minutes of Chinese instruction daily.
Study sample
All students included in the study were Latinx English language learners.
Intervention Group
The study examined an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) app. The ITS program consisted of 20-30-minute sessions using a virtual tutor and voice recognition software. The virtual tutor guided students through reading passages and learning selected academic vocabulary words. The selected vocabulary words described science and social studies concepts. The ITS program first showed students words accompanied with pictures or videos to provide them with context. The program then provided a student-friendly definition, followed by activities that offered students chances to practice speaking, reading, and listening to the selected words. The program was divided into six modules, including three science modules and three social studies modules. Each module included 3 units, each of which consisted of 5 sessions. Students participated in one session daily until they had completed a unit before moving on to the next unit. Over the course of the three-month study, students independently completed three social studies units and four science units. Their use of the ITS occurred while other students were rotating through centers, working in pairs, or working with the teacher.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison condition received their classroom’s typical science and social studies instruction. The study authors provided the selected vocabulary words to teachers in control classrooms, but based on observations and surveys, found that teachers did not explicitly teach the selected words.
Support for implementation
The authors did not report any training offered to classroom teachers.
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.
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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.
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A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
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).