ABSTRACT
Recently, Levitz (2006) reported the fi ndings of an experimental study in which he compared the growth in reading achievement for second grade students under several different conditions. The teachers in the primary experimental intervention followed a scripted, systematic and sequential program of instruction focused on rapid decoding of nonsense words. Students in classrooms who participated in this primary treatment condition demonstrated signifi cant improvement in the reading of real and nonsense words on the DIBELS. Students in the primary experimental condition also showed growth in reading comprehension at statistically signifi cant levels higher than students in the comparison group that was offered “wide reading” and a traditional control group that received no special instruction outside the regular curriculum. The fi ndings, with respect to the improvement in reading comprehension, are explained with reference to the “simple view.” The intervention study was conducted in schools serving low-income communities with the required time for teacher training to implement the program at less than 4 hours. A school-board trustee, concerned with low-performing schools in the district, puts this study as a discussion agenda item for the next meeting. A member of the state legislature, who serves as the chair on the education task force for raising reading scores, sends all members a copy of the study and requires that it be read in preparation for the next meting. The commercial publisher of the intervention program promotes the program at state and national conferences as a “proven” intervention to raise reading comprehension scores. The author of the report is an author of the program. The report of the study is published in a national, refereed journal and gains an award from a national literacy organization. The US Secretary of Education mandates that the program must be used in all programs that draw on federal support. The Minister of Education in Peru is presented with the fi ndings from this report and subsequently accepts support from the USAID to develop assessment tools for improving reading rate among primary grade, Quetchua speaking learners in the high Andes. The Minister of education of South Africa submits a proposal to the European Economic Union (EEU) for support of implementing a similar program in rural schools serving black, multi-lingual learners.
