Report of an Evaluation of Curriculum Laboratory Services in a Teachers College

Abstract

The classification scheme of context clues tested in this study is from the preliminary edition of the Comprehension element of the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development, which includes criterion-referenced context clues tests. One hundred thirty-three subjects in grades 3,4, and 5 in two Bemidji, Minnesota schools were pre- and posttested with Forms I and II. During the two-week interval between tests, subjects in the experimental school received instruction in two types of context clues. Six weeks later both groups were again administered Form I. Using an analysis of covariance, significant differences were Tound favoring the experimental school. Through an analysis of variance on the experimental school only, significant differences were found between grade levels and across all three grade levels from the pre- to posttest. Delayed posttest results were similar to immediate posttest results. Teaching a classification system seems to be effective at all grade levels, even at the beginning of grade 3.