Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
David Shellman
Committee Member
Patricia Grimes Smith
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
background knowledge, comprehension development, consultants, discussions, elementary schools, informal assessments, instructional practices, intervention strategies, parental involvement, qualitative reading inventory-3 (QRI-3), reading, reading assessments, reading comprehension, reading comprehension strategies, reading inventories, reading practice, reading skills, reading specialists, SAT-9, Stanford Achievement Test, STAR, Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading, state assessments, student achievement, student progress, teaching skills, text discussions, third grade students, teacher practices, fifth grade students, fourth grade students, West Decatur Elementary School
Abstract
The focus of this intervention was on improving the reading comprehension skills of 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade students through the direct teaching of reading comprehension strategies. Approximately 62% of 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade students at West Decatur Elementary were not scoring at the expected national average in reading comprehension as evidenced by their performance on the state assessment measure.
The expansion of students’ background knowledge, provision of extensive and strategic reading practice, and use of discussions about texts were involved in an effort to increase students’ reading comprehension. Increasing the amount of parental involvement relative to helping students improve their reading skills was also addressed. The administrator, the reading specialist, and a consultant were actively involved in the execution of the intervention strategies.
Intervention efforts were evaluated with both formal and informal assessments. The Stanford Achievement Test (9th ed.; SAT-9; 1997), 3 different versions of the Qualitative Reading Inventory-3 (QRI-3; 2000), and the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR; 2000) were used to evaluate student progress.
Overall, the objectives of the study were met. There were positive changes in the instructional practice of teachers, in the amount of parental involvement relative to helping students improve their reading skills, and in students’ performance on the SAT-9, QRI-3, and STAR assessments.