Two approaches to reading instruction with children with disabilities: does program design make a difference?
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Controlled comparative study without reported randomization; graded by design analogy.
PubMed 8477784 · doi:10.1177/001440299305900404
What was done
The study compared the effects of two synthetic phonics reading programs—Direct Instruction (DI) Reading Mastery I and II versus Addison Wesley's Meet the Superkids and The Superkids' Club—on reading achievement. Participants were 81 children in transitional kindergarten special education classrooms. Reading achievement was assessed at the end of the treatment year and at a 1-year follow-up.
What was found
The abstract reports no raw scores, effect sizes, or p-values. No statistically significant achievement differences were found between the two programs at post-treatment or at the 1-year follow-up. However, in a subgroup analysis of children who made advanced progress, the DI group showed larger reading gains.
Why it matters
The study tests whether the reading benefits of Direct Instruction observed in disadvantaged general education populations extend to young children with disabilities relative to an alternative phonics curriculum.
Limits
The abstract reports no numerical data, confidence intervals, or p-values. Randomization is not mentioned, creating potential selection and allocation bias. The sample size is modest (n = 81), restricted to transitional kindergarten special education classrooms, and the superior performance for Direct Instruction was confined to a post-hoc or subgroup analysis of advanced learners.
Cited by
- supports Project Follow Through in the 1970s was the largest educational study ever conducted to evaluate effective ways to teach children.