I'm Not Throwing Away My Shot: What Alexander Hamilton Can Tell Us about Standard Reading Interventions

Abstract

AbstractThis article summarizes findings from a two‐year randomized control trial, focusing on a subset of 194 fourth graders with reading comprehension scores at or below the 15th percentile. Students in the treatment condition received an average of 94 daily 30‐min sessions of small group intervention implemented with fidelity by well‐trained research staff. Standardized measures of word identification, vocabulary, and comprehension, and an oral reading fluency measure were administered pre‐ and post‐testing. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between students in the treatment or business‐as‐usual conditions; effect sizes for comprehension were small (0.14 and 0.19); a quantile regression, however, revealed slightly larger effect sizes for students at the 0.25 to 0.50 quantiles. The effect sizes for word identification, fluency, and vocabulary were less than 0.05. We discuss implications of the study, as well as limitations and directions for future research. We conclude with recommendations for intensifying interventions.