Study: 85504

IES Performance Measure

Review Details

Reviewed: October 2017

No statistically significant positive
findings

Meets WWC standards without reservations

For:

IES Performance Measure (findings for IES Funded Studies )

Using:

Rating:

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

Alphabetics outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index	Evidence tier
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Letter-Word Identification subtest	IES Funded Studies vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 404 students	492.79	493.23	No	--
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Word Attack subtest	IES Funded Studies vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 404 students	495.47	496.31	No	--

Comprehension outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests (GMRT): Comprehension subtest	IES Funded Studies vs. Business as usual	Full sample; 405 students	459.25	454.23	No	--
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Passage Comprehension subtest	IES Funded Studies vs. Business as usual	Full sample; 404 students	488.12	486.98	No	--
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Picture Vocabulary	IES Funded Studies vs. Business as usual	Full sample; 404 students	491.70	490.54	No	--
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests (GMRT): Vocabulary subtest	IES Funded Studies vs. Business as usual	Full sample; 406 students	462.08	462.04	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.

13% English language learners
Female: 51%
Male: 49%
Rural, Urban

Race
Asian		1%
Black		35%
Native American		17%
Other or unknown		2%
White		44%

Ethnicity
Hispanic		46%
Not Hispanic or Latino		54%

Study Details

Setting

The study took place in sixteen public elementary schools across six school districts in three states. One of the school districts was in a large urban area, one was in a mid-sized city, and four were in rural areas.

Study sample

The sample at randomization was 51% female, 35% African American, 44% Caucasian, 17% American Indian, 1% Asian, and 2% multiracial. Forty-six percent of the students at randomization identified as Hispanic. Eighty-five percent were low income, 13.2% were English Learners, and 15% were identified as having a disability. The study did not provide information about the analytic sample.

Intervention Group

Passport to Literacy, a supplemental reading intervention, was implemented in daily, 30-minute sessions in groups of four to seven students for an entire school year (up to 120 lessons). The intervention is broken into twelve 10-day adventures, with each lesson targeting phonics and word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each lesson begins with a short starter activity followed by two major components: Word Works and Read to Understand. During the Word Works component, students learned strategies related to phonics, word recognition, decoding, sight word reading, and spelling. During the Read to Understand component, students learned new vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. The intervention sessions occurred outside of classroom reading instruction blocks often during the time already designated for intervention/enrichment. For students who were present through the full school year, the number of lessons attended ranged from 58 to 106 lessons. On average each session lasted 28.56 minutes. About 27% of students in the intervention group also received other typical supplemental instruction provided by their schools and available to the comparison group. The other instruction was provided in small groups for some or all of the school year, with an average session being about 28 minutes.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition was regular reading instruction in each school. This included core reading instruction, which was on average 75.40 minutes daily), and school-provided supplemental instruction for students who were eligible. This supplemental instruction most often ranged from 31-50 minutes per session, and most were offered in small groups. The average length of intervention instruction time was 28 minutes per session. Sixty-eight comparison students, or about 30% of the comparison group, received supplemental intervention provided by their respective schools for at least part of the school year.

Support for implementation

Prior to the implementation of Passport to Literacy, intervention teachers participated in approximately eight hours of training over 2 days. Training was provided by project coordinators, who also conducted coaching visits twice a month once intervention sessions began. Teachers were able to receive feedback on implementation as well as discuss questions and concerns. Monthly meetings with all intervention teachers were held to provide continued support and ensure implementation fidelity.

Effects of a Year Long Supplemental Reading Intervention for Students with Reading Difficulties in Fourth Grade