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A Comparison of Two Reading Programs on the Reading Outcomes of First-Grade Students

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A Comparison of Two Reading Programs on the Reading Outcomes of First-Grade Students KEVIN G. TOBIN, Pittsfield Public Schools, and MARY BETH CALHOON, Georgia State University than today, their access to knowledge and eco- A Comparison of Two nomic success (Adams, 1990; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Because of this concern, over Reading Programs on 20 years of research has been conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and the Reading Outcomes Human Development, the U.S. Office of Education, and many private foundations and of First-grade Students institutes to examine how best to teach read- ing to ensure that all children acquire ade- quate progress in reading (Lyon, Alexander, & Yaffee, 1997; Torgesen et al., 2001). This goal Abstract: The purpose of this study was to is repeated in the No Child Left Behind Act compare the effect of two theoretically differ- (2001) requiring that all children should ent reading programs on the reading out- receive evidence-based reading instruction comes of first-grade students (N=107). Two (Snow et al.). elementary schools were chosen for partici- pation based on the first-grade reading pro- gram currently being implemented in the Even though research has shown the impor- schools. One school used the Horizons Fast tance of explicit and systematic teaching of Track A-B reading program and the other phonological awareness and phonics (Adams, used a Guided Reading approach. Students 1990; Cunningham, 1990; Iverson & Tunmer, were assessed on Phoneme Segmentation 1993; National Reading Panel (NRP), 2000), Fluency, Nonsense Word Fluency, and Oral Reading Fluency using the AIMSweb many teachers and administrators take for (Edformation, 2006) progress monitoring granted that a published reading program has system. Results showed differing responses research evidence supporting efficacy and ben- to the interventions. Students in both condi- efit. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. tions significantly increased across time on Many programs and educational methods are Phoneme Segmentation Fluency, Nonsense Word Fluency, and Oral Reading Fluency. developed around a set of philosophical beliefs However, the students in the Guided Reading on student learning or an ideal that is identi- condition significantly outperformed the stu- fied by a marketing survey; however, these dents in the Horizons condition on Phoneme programs rarely, if ever, have controlled evi- Segmentation Fluency, while the students in dence-based research evaluating their effec- the Horizons condition made significantly greater gains than students in the Guided tiveness (Brown-Chidsey & Steege, 2005). Reading condition on Oral Reading Fluency. Results are discussed in regards to the differ- With research showing that waiting until mid- ences between the two reading programs. dle elementary school years to implement One of the most pressing societal issues in our country is that of teaching our children to read. The first graders of today will be adults Journal of Direct Instruction, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 35-46. Address in a global world where the literacy demands correspondence to Kevin Tobin at placed on them will determine, even more [email protected]. Journal of Direct Instruction 35 remedial reading programs is more costly and A follow-up study of students who were less effective than early intervention and pre- instructed in a systematic and explicit phonics vention, it is not surprising that a major program in first grade showed students who change in reading pedagogy is emerging that received Horizons Fast Track A-B maintained emphasizes early identification and prevention and even increased their superior performance of reading failure (Torgesen, 2002). in third and fourth grades on state-mandated Cunningham and Stanovich (1997) studied tests of reading and English language arts the reading comprehension, vocabulary, gen- (Tobin, 2004). Gersten, Keating, and Becker eral knowledge, and print exposure of students (1988) documented the long-term positive in 11th grade who completed a reading battery impact of DI in longitudinal studies of Project 10 years earlier in first grade and found that Follow Through students. Adding to this, first-grade reading ability predicted all 11th- Tobin (2003) found that students in first grade outcomes. There is compelling evidence grade who received instruction in Horizons Fast that children who rapidly acquire reading pro- Track A-B had significantly higher reading flu- ficiency can enhance their verbal intelligence ency, reading accuracy, and nonsense word flu- by increasing their vocabulary and general ency scores, and scored higher on the knowledge (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998). Woodcock Diagnostic Reading Test Further, the Connecticut Longitudinal Study (Woodcock, 1997) when compared to students (Francis, Shaywitz, Steubling, Shaywitz, & who received reading instruction with a con- Fletcher, 1996) reported that children who are ventional basal program. The students were poor readers at the end of first grade do not followed for several years to assess the longitu- obtain adequate reading proficiency by the dinal effects of the initial explicit-phonics end of elementary school. The prevention of instruction. Students who were instructed reading difficulties is best accomplished with Horizons Fast Track A-B in first grade through systematic early reading instruction scored significantly higher on the (Foorman, 2003; Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2002). Therefore, it is System (MCAS) in reading at the end of third important to identify those programs that grade and in English language arts at the end maximize the development of reading skills of fourth grade compared to students who and that lead to greater reading fluency as received instruction in a typical basal reading early as possible. program (Tobin, 2004). Currently, federal law promotes the adoption Another approach to early reading is Guided of educational practices based on research; in Reading. It is not a formal reading program; the future, widespread pedagogical practices rather, it is designed to expose students to a may gradually be influenced by this legislative wide range of literature (Pinnell & Fountas, agenda. The Horizons program (Engelmann, 1996). Swartz, Shook, and Klein (2004) refer Engelmann, & Seitz-Davis, 1997) is a Direct to Guided Reading as a pedagogical approach Instruction (DI) reading program. This pro- in which a teacher instructs small groups of gram incorporates research findings concerning students or individual students to provide sup- optimal decoding and comprehension strate- port to help them comprehend text. Reitsma gies. For example, the Horizons Fast Track A-B (1988) compared the effects of Guided program presents a diversity of story reading Reading, reading while listening, and reading formats to increase understanding of charac- with computer-based speech feedback on the ters, plot, and sequence and allows students to ability of first-grade beginning readers to read analyze details from the story. The Horizons a target word list. The students read a passage reading program has four levels (A, B, C, & D) containing 20 target words each day for 5 con- and two fast-track options (A-B & C-D). secutive days under one of the three experi- 36 Winter 2009 mental conditions. Students in Guided result in greater PSF, NWF, and ORF. This Reading and in reading with computer-based study is a preliminary attempt at program eval- speech feedback performed better than stu- uation conducted within a public school sys- dents in the reading while listening condition. tem, rather than a research study with random Swartz and Shook (2003) reported that assignment of participants. Guided Reading is an effective teaching method to develop proficient readers. They indicated that long-term use of Guided Methods Reading led to an increase in achievement test scores. Participants and Settings Students were 107 first-grade students (53 The benefits of Guided Reading to engage girls and 54 boys) enrolled in two elementary students in thinking about the meaning of text schools in a northeastern state. Two schools have been noted. However, this approach does participated; one was a Title I school (n=47) not provide systematic instruction, practice in using the Horizons Fast Track A-B program basic reading skills, sufficient opportunities to with a student composition of 17% African master basic skills, or systematic and judicious American, 2.3% Asian, 6.1% Hispanic, 70.4% review of previously taught skills (Torgesen, Caucasian, 4.2% multiracial, 3.8% limited 2006). Furthermore, it has been suggested that English speaking, and 57.6% low income and leveled books do not necessarily provide good receiving free or reduced-cost lunch. The practice for essential phonics skills (Torgesen). second school (n=60) used the Guided Reading approach (Fountas & Pinnell, 2000; Both the Horizons program and the Guided Pinnell & Fountas, 1996) and had a student Reading approach are widely used in school composition of 4.2% African American, 2.4% systems across the country. However, it Asian, 2.4% Hispanic, 89.5% Caucasian, 1.5% appears a school-based comparison of the two multiracial, 2.6% limited English speaking, programs has never been conducted. With this and 27.2% low income and receiving free or in mind, this evaluation of the two different reduced-cost lunch. approaches to teaching beginning reading skills was conducted by the school district in Teachers. The teachers in this study were an effort to meet the expectation of state and
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