WWC review of this study

An investigation of achievement in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program at the high school level.

Rorie, L. B. (2007). Dissertation Abstracts International, 68(11A), 168–4657.

  • Quasi-Experimental Design
     examining 
    96
     Students
    , grades
    9-12

Reviewed: September 2010

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards with reservations
Comprehension outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP): Reading subtest

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) vs. Business as usual

Average impact over 2 years of intervention (9th & 10th grade)

High school sample;
96 students

N/A

N/A

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • Female: 75%
    Male: 25%

  • Suburban
    • B
    • A
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
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    • J
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    • Z
    • Y
    • a
    • h
    • i
    • b
    • d
    • e
    • f
    • c
    • g
    • j
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    • l
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    Colorado
  • Race
    Asian
    4%
    Black
    29%
    White
    60%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    6%
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    94%

Setting

Participating students attended four high schools in the Pine View School District in suburban Colorado. These schools had been implementing the AVID program for seven or more years. The school district had experienced a 40% increase in enrollment in the past decade, 31% of the district students were minority, 16% spoke a primary language other than English, and 16% of students were eligible to receive free or reduced-priced lunch.

Study sample

The researcher used retrospective archival data to construct the AVID and comparison groups from the graduating classes of 2005 and 2006 that had complete data from 8th through 12th grades and attended the four high schools in the study. Students in the AVID group attended one of the four participating high schools from one school district and had participated in the AVID program for four years (grades 9–12) in high school (but not in 8th grade). The study author did not describe how students chose or were chosen to participate in the program. Non-AVID comparison group students attended the same schools and were matched on ethnicity, gender, and age. This WWC review focuses on the matched comparison sample that equated students on their 8th-grade Colorado State Assessment Program Reading subtest scores. The final sample includes 48 students in the AVID group and 48 students in the comparison group, all of whom graduated from the class of either 2005 or 2006.

Intervention Group

AVID students participated in the AVID elective class, and a majority of their content classes were taught by AVID-trained teachers. The study reported 9th- and 10th-grade student reading test score outcomes, thus measuring program effects after one to two years of participation in the intervention.

Comparison Group

Non-AVID students attended the same schools as the AVID students for all four years of high school, graduated from that high school during the same time period, and did not participate in any AVID electives. However, these students may or may not have been enrolled in classes taught by AVID-trained teachers. Since the AVID program seeks to promote whole school improvement through professional development of school and district personnel, the comparison group in this study may have been exposed to elements of the AVID program even if they did not participate in AVID electives (for example, if they were enrolled in a class taught by an AVID-trained teacher).

Outcome descriptions

Reading comprehension was measured using the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) Reading subtest. Pre-intervention scores were from 8th grade, and outcomes were from 9th and 10th grades. For a more detailed description of these outcome measures, see Appendix A2.

Support for implementation

Teachers were trained to implement AVID, but no details are available concerning this training.

 

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