Larissa Campuzano

An experimental assessment of the effects of reading software products on reading test scores

Responding to a Congressional mandate in the No Child Left Behind Act, the effectiveness of nine reading instructional software applications was investigated using an experimental design and a large sample of American schools, teachers, and students. The software packages were selected based on evidence of effectiveness from previous research. Five software applications were for first‐grade students and four were for fourth‐grade students. Standardized tests were administered in the fall and spring of the 2004–2005 school year, classrooms were observed, and school records data were collected. The findings indicated that instructional activities were altered by the presence of software, but test scores were not statistically significantly higher in classrooms in which the software applications were used. For a subset of teachers and schools, an additional year of follow‐up was conducted to examine whether effectiveness was moderated by a year of teacher experience. The results were mixed, with measured eff...