In a quasi-experimental study, CIRC showed no statistically significant effect on comprehension outcomes after WWC clustering and multiple-comparison adjustments¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2012 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Bramlett (1994) reported a significant positive difference on CAT Reading Comprehension, but WWC calculations accounting for clustering and multiple comparisons found the difference not statistically significant; the domain average effect size was 0.09. → bramlett-comprehension

Evidence¶

bramlett-comprehension¶

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. (2012, June). Beginning Reading intervention report: Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition®. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/109

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Quasi-experiment of 18 third-grade classrooms (392 students) in eight rural southern Ohio districts, matched on district and teaching experience; only the reading components of CIRC were implemented over one school year. WWC domain average effect size for Bramlett's comprehension outcomes was 0.09, below the 0.25 substantively-important threshold.

"According to WWC calculations (which account for clustering and multiple comparisons), the difference was not statistically significant."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The cooperative learning component's added benefit over direct instruction alone with CIRC materials was not statistically significant on main idea identification — related
• CIRC shows no discernible effects on general reading achievement for beginning readers (effect size 0.02) — related
• In the Bramlett quasi-experiment, no comprehension subtest or ability-level subgroup showed a statistically significant CIRC effect after WWC adjustments — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Author-reported statistically significant program effects did not remain significant after WWC corrections for clustering and multiple comparisons — a broader claim this one bears on
• In a cluster randomized trial, CIRC produced a statistically significant positive effect on main idea identification (effect size 0.85) but not on inference questions — related
• Quasi-experimental studies of Success for All across diverse settings find positive effects on early-grade reading — related
• Stevens and Slavin (1995) found statistically significant positive effects of CIRC on CAT Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary subtests, while Jewell (1994) found no statistically significant effects — related
• Reading Mastery shows no discernible effects on reading comprehension for adolescent learners, with an average improvement index of –7 percentile points — related