Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
William G. Frost
Committee Member
John Billings
Committee Member
Ronald P. Kern
Keywords
assistant teachers, control group, disabilities, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, early literacy, inclusion, oral reading fluency, pretest-posttest design, quasi-experimental design, reading, reading achievement, reading fluency, reading intervention, Reading to Read, remedial reading, research-based intervention, student performance, students with disabilities, treatment group
Abstract
Research showed students with poor reading skills face difficulties in general education classes. Schools are face with the challenge of meeting the needs of all students. Therefore, researchers recommended using a research-based reading intervention program to improve students’ reading achievement.
The Reading to Read intervention program was used to supplement reading benchmarks for each student. Instructions were provided and monitored by assistant teachers trained in the Reading to Read procedure. To measure the effects of the program, pretest-posttest scores were compared for 20 students in the treatment group who participate in the interventions and 20 students in the control group who did not participate.
Eligibility of participants for the intervention was based on the students’ disability, age, and students’ scores on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills assessment. The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills assessment was designed to assess early literacy and reading skills of students. It included a 1-minute fluency measurement.
This applied dissertation examined the effects of a remedial reading program on oral reading fluency of students with disabilities. This study compared the oral fluency reading scores of students with disabilities receiving reading intervention with the scores of students who did not receive the treatment. A quasi-experimental design study using pretest-posttest design was used to determine the effectiveness and benefit of the reading intervention on students’ performance.
The results of oral reading fluency scores between the experimental and control groups revealed a statistical difference. The most successful achievement gain was evidenced with the experience group.