Garrett J. Roberts

A Century of Progress: Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4–12, 1914–2014

The history of research on interventions for struggling readers in Grades 4 through 12 dates back to 19th-century case studies of seemingly intelligent children who were unable to learn to read. Physicians, psychologists, educators, and others were determined to help them. In the process, they launched a century of research on a wide variety of approaches to reading intervention. As shown in this systematic narrative review, much has changed over time in the conceptualization of reading interventions and the methods used to determine their efficacy in improving outcomes for struggling readers. Building on the knowledge gathered over the past 100 years, researchers and practitioners are well-poised to continue to make progress in developing and testing reading interventions over the next 100 years.

Reading interventions with behavioral and social skill outcomes: a synthesis of research.

Research findings have suggested that reading deficits and problem behaviors are positively related. This synthesis investigated how reading interventions impact behavioral/social skill outcomes by reviewing studies that included (a) a reading intervention without behavioral/social skill components, (b) behavioral/social skill dependent variables, and (c) students in Grades K-12. Fifteen articles were evaluated by the type of reading intervention, associations between positive reading effects and behavioral/social skill outcomes, and The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) determinants of study ratings. Findings suggested that reading interventions tended to have positive reading outcomes, while behavioral/social skill outcomes were small or negative. Research did not suggest an association between improved reading and behavioral performance, regardless of the WWC study determinants rating. Implications include reading instruction may not be sufficient to improve behavioral and social skill outcomes. Additional research is warranted to investigate the long-term impact of reading on behavioral and social skill outcomes.

Multisyllabic Word-Reading Instruction With and Without Motivational Beliefs Training for Struggling Readers in the Upper Elementary Grades: A Pilot Investigation

This randomized controlled trial focused on 59 struggling readers in the third and fourth grades (30 female, 29 male) and examined the efficacy of an intervention aimed at increasing students’ multisyllabic word reading (MWR). The study also explored the relative effects of an embedded motivational beliefs (MB) training component. Struggling readers were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: MWR only, MWR with an MB component (MWR + MB), or business-as-usual control. Students were tutored in small groups in 24 sessions, three 40-minute lessons each week. Students in both MWR groups outperformed the control group on measures of word-reading fluency. MWR + MB students outperformed MWR only on sentence-level comprehension and outperformed the control group in ratings of attributions for success in reading. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to MWR instruction for students with persistent reading difficulties and the potential for enhancing intervention through targeting motivation.

Examining the Effects of Afterschool Reading Interventions for Upper Elementary Struggling Readers

We examined the efficacy of an afterschool multicomponent reading intervention for third- through fifth-grade students with reading difficulties. A total of 419 students were identified for participation based on a 90 standard score or below on a screening measure of the Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension. Participating students were randomly assigned to a business as usual comparison condition or one of two reading treatments. All treatment students received 30 min of computer-based instruction plus 30 min of small-group tutoring for four to five times per week. No statistically significant reading comprehension posttest group differences were identified (p > .05). The limitations of this study included high attrition and absenteeism. These findings extend those from a small sample of experimental studies examining afterschool reading interventions and provide initial evidence that more instruction, after school, may not yield the desired outcome of improved comprehension.

Efficacy of a Word- and Text-Based Intervention for Students With Significant Reading Difficulties:

We examine the efficacy of an intervention to improve word reading and reading comprehension in fourth- and fifth-grade students with significant reading problems. Using a randomized control trial design, we compare the fourth- and fifth-grade reading outcomes of students with severe reading difficulties who were provided a researcher-developed treatment with reading outcomes of students in a business-as-usual (BAU) comparison condition. A total of 280 fourth- and fifth-grade students were randomly assigned within school in a 1:1 ratio to either the BAU comparison condition (n = 139) or the treatment condition (n = 141). Treatment students were provided small-group tutoring for 30 to 45 minutes for an average of 68 lessons (mean hours of instruction = 44.4, SD = 11.2). Treatment students performed statistically significantly higher than BAU students on a word reading measure (effect size [ES] = 0. 58) and a measure of reading fluency (ES = 0.46). Though not statistically significant, effect sizes for students in the treatment condition were consistently higher than BAU students for decoding measures (ES = 0.06, 0.08), and mixed for comprehension (ES = -0.02, 0.14).

Causal Mediation in Educational Intervention Studies

Understanding the factors that mediate the effect of educational or behavioral intervention is critical to advancing both research and practice. When properly implemented, mediators add depth to the results of intervention research, indicating why a program works, highlighting ways to enhance its effectiveness, and revealing the elements that are essential to successful implementation. However, many researchers find mediation a difficult topic and struggle to implement it properly in statistical models of effects from between-groups randomized studies. In an effort to bring clarity to the topic of mediation and encourage its use where appropriate, this article lays out the requirements for evidence of a causal-mediated effect. An example of a randomized trial of an intervention targeting self-regulation and student behavior is used to illustrate the process of conceptualizing and testing for mediation of treatment effects. Statistical considerations also are addressed.

Avoiding the Threat An Exploratory Study Into a Theoretical Understanding of the De Facto Segregation of Students With Disabilities

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that may influence school administrators’ disciplinary decisions involving students with disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the investigator-developed measures adequately represent the hypothesized latent factors per the pattern of observed responses. The hypothesized structural model fits the data well, indicating a positive and significant relationship between administrators’ perceived threats from students with disabilities and disciplinary decisions involving students with disabilities.

Further evaluation of latency-based brief functional analysis methods: An evaluation of treatment utility

Abstract Objective: Objectives were to evaluate latency-based brief functional analysis (BFA) model for identifying functions of aberrant behavior and treatments generated based on the results of the latency-based brief functional analysis. Methods: We conducted latency-based BFA, including contingency reversals, and function-based treatment evaluations, including non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) with three individuals with autism using single subject design methodology. Results: Socially-mediated functions (attention; tangible) were indicated for two participants and an automatic function was identified for one participant. The treatments generated based on results of the BFA were effective at reducing aberrant behavior for all participants. Conclusions: Results provide additional support that latency-based BFA model has utility in (a) the identification of functions of aberrant behavior and (b) the generation of function-based treatments. These results suggest clinicians who encounter setting and client-specific constraints (e.g. time; severity of aberrant behavior) have additional flexibility in choosing assessment tools.