WWC review of this study

Immediate and long-term effects of tier 2 reading instruction for first-grade students with a high probability of reading failure.

Case, L., Speece, D., Silverman, R., Schatschneider, C., Montanaro, E., & Ritchey, K. (2014). Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 7(1), 28-53. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1030356

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    123
     Students
    , grade
    1

Reviewed: February 2023

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Oral reading fluency outcomes—Substantively important positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Passage Reading Fluency - Grade 1 Level

Small group reading intervention for at-risk children in first grade—Case et al. (2010) vs. Peer assisted learning (PAL)

1 Year

Full sample;
109 students

90.21

82.12

No

--

Passage Reading Fluency - Grade 2 Level

Small group reading intervention for at-risk children in first grade—Case et al. (2010) vs. Peer assisted learning (PAL)

1 Year

Full sample;
109 students

94.46

87.39

No

--
Word reading  outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - Revised: Word Attack

Small group reading intervention for at-risk children in first grade—Case et al. (2010) vs. Peer assisted learning (PAL)

0 Days

Full sample;
123 students

107.07

104.72

No

--

Woodcock Reading Mastery Test - Revised: Word Identification

Small group reading intervention for at-risk children in first grade—Case et al. (2010) vs. Peer assisted learning (PAL)

0 Days

Full sample;
123 students

105.93

104.57

No

--

TOWRE - Phonemic Decoding Fluency

Small group reading intervention for at-risk children in first grade—Case et al. (2010) vs. Peer assisted learning (PAL)

0 Days

Full sample;
123 students

96.59

97.08

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.


  • Suburban, Urban

Setting

The study participants were first-grade students from parochial schools in a major mid-Atlantic city and nearby suburban communities.

Study sample

The school enrollment ranged from 166 to 715 students (Median = 483 students) in the participating schools. The median percentage of children eligible for free and reduced-priced meals at the school level was 5% (range = 0–75%). In the analysis sample, 54.1% were boys in the intervention group (54% in the comparison group); 14.8% were black in the intervention group (8.1% in the comparison group); 39.9% of the intervention students' mothers had a high school degree, (45.2% in the comparison group).

Intervention Group

The intervention period occurred from January through March. The intervention consisted of three 40-min sessions scheduled weekly, for approximately 12 weeks. The intervention was administered in groups and group size varied from two to four students per group. There were 22 groups in total and there were seven groups of two students, 13 groups of three students, and two groups of four students. The intervention used methods recommended by the National Reading Panel (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). Twenty five scripted lessons were developed from other reading programs and evidence-based instructional methods. Tutors followed the scripted lessons closely but were allowed to modify lessons slightly, when necessary, when students were struggling. Each lesson included three main components. First, there was 15 minutes of instruction on "building phonemic awareness and phonic skills through the introduction and reinforcement of letter-sound relationships." Then tutors provided 10 minutes of instruction "focusing on sight works, decodable works, vocabulary, and prereading comprehension strategies." Finally, in the last 15 minutes, students "participated in reading fluency and comprehension activities with timed reading, repeated choral reading, and discussion to build comprehension." Every fourth lesson the format changed where "instead of participating in choral and timed reading, students listened to one student read a decodable or leveled trade book and then the group read the text chorally."

Comparison Group

Students from the comparison group received Tier 1 instruction, which consisted of Peer Assisted Learning Strategies three times a week between November and April during first grade.

Support for implementation

Intervention tutors participated in a minimum of 20 hours of training. All participating teachers were provided with Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) training. Project staff observed teachers twice per year and obtained fidelity information to document PALS implementation. The authors also established treatment fidelity in several ways.

 

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