Description:

Purpose: At the time of this study, 26 percent of adolescents read below basic level, which was a topic of concern in the media, professional conferences, and political venues. Adolescents from minority groups, those who lived in poverty, and those with disabilities were even more disadvantaged in terms of literacy attainment. Hence, the researchers proposed to develop and pilot test strategies to assist on high school adolescents with limited reading proficiency.

Structured Abstract

THE FOLLOWING CONTENT DESCRIBES THE PROJECT AT THE TIME OF FUNDING

Sample: The sample includes 9th and 10th grade students from 2 Kansas City, Kansas high schools. The sample will come from a population in which 65 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch, 47 percent of the students are African American, and 22 percent are Hispanic. Within this student population, 6 percent has been classified as having a learning disability in the area of reading and 73 percent read at the unsatisfactory or basic levels according to the Kansas State Assessments administered in the spring of 2003. Approximately 200 students will participate in the study.

Intervention: This proposal involves teaching 9th and 10th grade struggling readers skills and strategies that will significantly enhance their reading performance. Students will receive instruction in strategies for increasing reading motivation, decoding, word identification, and fluency. Additionally, reading comprehension strategies for vocabulary, paraphrasing, summarizing, generating questions, inferencing, and recognizing text structures will be taught. Cooperative learning activities will be used to extend student practice and feedback opportunities. The strategies will be developed and bundled in two main packages. The first bundle, called "The Bridging Program," will include decoding, word identification, vocabulary, and fluency strategies. The second bundle called, "The Comprehension Program," will include additional vocabulary strategies and four to six specific comprehension strategies. Both strategy programs will make up the core curriculum in a four-semester high school reading class.

Research Design and Methods: The research design for the 9th and 10th grade studies will be experimental with random assignment of students to experimental and control conditions. Within the existing small learning community structure of both high schools, students will be randomly assigned to receive the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning reading strategy intervention course or the district's existing reading intervention. Students in both conditions will receive four semesters of reading instruction over the course of the study.

Data Analytic Strategies: In phase 3, the researchers will use hierarchical linear modeling and structural equation modeling to address the longitudinal effects of the multi-strategy instruction; the effects of the instruction on specific subgroups of learners (low SES, race/ethnicity, English Language Learners, students with disabilities); and the relationship of student reading proficiency to performance on specific measures of decoding, word identification, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation.

Products and Publications

ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.

WWC Review:  Hock, M. F., Brasseur-Hock, I. F., Hock, A. J., & Duvel, B. (2017). The effects of a comprehensive reading program on reading outcomes for middle school students with disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 195-212. [WWC Review]

Select Publications:

Journal articles

Hock, M.F., Brasseur, I.F., Deshler, D.D., Catts, H.W., Marques, J.G., Mark, C.A., and Stribling, J.W. (2009). What is the Reading Component Skill Profile of Adolescent Struggling Readers in Urban Schools?. Learning Disability Quarterly, 31(2): 21–38.

Hock, M.F., Brasseur-Hock, I.F., Hock, A. J., and Duvel, B. (2017). The Effects of a Comprehensive Reading Program on Reading Outcomes for Middle School Students With Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 195–212.