Explaining Variation in Findings From Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies for English Reading Interventions for English Learners

Beginning in 2002, researchers developed, implemented, and evaluated the efficacy of an English reading intervention for first-grade English learners using multiple randomized control trials (RCTs). As a result of this efficacy work, researchers successfully competed for an IES Goal 4 effectiveness study using the same intervention. Unlike the efficacy studies, the findings from the effectiveness study begun in 2011 did not yield significant differences in favor of the treatment. We investigated the identification and pre-intervention performance levels of students in efficacy and effectiveness RCT studies and provide data and compare samples from these studies as one means of explaining variation in findings. Findings indicate that pre-intervention performance levels are higher for students in effectiveness RCT studies. This article serves as an exemplar for other effectiveness studies that may not replicate findings from previous efficacy trials.     

Faculty centers for educational development: An alternative to the instructional organization

A response to Fraley and Vargas' paper which acknowledges the strength of their challenge, but argues that the model of instructional organization they propose overemphasizes the knowledge transmission function of higher education institutions, ignores the important role of socialization and self-initiated study in students' development, and rules out the impact on the teacher of interaction with students. An alternative approach is proposed which recognizes the importance of instruction while retaining faculty involvement in it.     

Links among segmenting,spelling, and reading words in first and second Grades

Twenty first graders and twenty second graders were examined on skills in segmenting, reading, and spelling 50 words with regular and exceptional spelling patterns. By using the same words for each task, it was possible to assess the interrelationships among these skills on a word by word, child by child basis. A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted on difference scores among segmentation, reading, and spelling. Generally, differences favored segmentation and were maximized when final sounds were deleted and minimized when medial sounds were deleted. In addition, graphical analyses showed a greater probability of correct reading and spelling given correct segmentation than incorrect segmentation. Results were interpreted to support a computational notion of phonology as a prerequisite to reading and spelling, with a more reflective notion explaining the reciprocal relation between reading and segmentation of consonant blends and medial sounds.     

Exploring connections among reading,spelling, and phonemic segmentation during first grade

Exploratory data analysis was used to examine changes in individual reading and spelling patterns during first grade. Subjects were from classrooms receiving, on average, 45 minutes compared to 15 minutes of daily letter-sound instruction. Subjects spelled and read 60 words in October, February, and May, and deleted sounds from spoken words. Spelling and reading responses progressed from nonphonetic, to phonetic, to correct. Additionally, knowledge of a word's spelling informed its reading, while the converse was less apparent. Finally, those slow to improve in phoneme deletion were also slow to spell and read phonetically, especially among subjects receiving less instruction in letter-sound relations.