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¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 causal r3 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2012 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 Third- and fourth-grade students in CIRC classrooms significantly outperformed comparison classrooms on Main Idea Questions (effect size 0.85, improvement index +30, p < 0.01). → stevens-main-idea q3 i? No statistically significant difference was found between the CIRC group and the comparison group on Inference Questions (effect size 0.19, p > 0.05). → stevens-inference

Evidence¶

stevens-main-idea¶

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

q3 · i3 · causal · r3

Cluster randomized trial of 30 classrooms (486 students) in four Harrisburg, Pennsylvania schools; 153 students in 10 CIRC classrooms versus 167 comparison students using basal readers. WWC calculations show a Main Idea Questions effect size of 0.85, improvement index +30, p < 0.01, favoring CIRC.

"Main Idea Questions Grades 3 and 4 20 classes/ 320 students 6.40 (1.83) 4.74 (2.03) 1.66 0.85 +30 < 0.01"

stevens-inference¶

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

q3 · i? · causal · r3

Same cluster randomized trial (Stevens et al., 1991), WWC calculations for the author-developed 10-item Inference Questions test: effect size 0.19, improvement index +8, p > 0.05 — not statistically significant. The study reported outcomes after four weeks of implementation.

"Inference Questions Grades 3 and 4 20 classes/ 320 students 5.69 (2.14) 5.28 (2.08) 0.41 0.19 +8 > 0.05"

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