For fifth-grade struggling readers, the four interventions combined improved phonemic decoding on one measure but produced a small reduction in oral reading fluency one year after the interventions¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2007 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? For students in the fifth-grade cohort, the four interventions combined improved phonemic decoding on one measure but led to a small statistically significant reduction in oral reading fluency. → Torgesen 2007

Evidence¶

Torgesen 2007¶

Torgesen, J., Schirm, A., Castner, L., Vartivarian, S., Mansfield, W., Myers, D., Stancavage, F., Durno, D., Javorsky, R., and Haan, C. (2007). National Assessment of Title I, Final Report: Volume II: Closing the Reading Gap, Findings from a Randomized Trial of Four Reading Interventions for Striving Readers (NCEE 2008-4013). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/national-assessment-of-title-i-final-report-volume-ii-closing-the-reading-gap-findings-from-a-randomized-trial-of-four-reading-interventions-for-striving-readers

q3 · i? · causal · r3

In the same two-level randomized trial, Table 2 shows the fifth-grade cohort's AIMSweb oral reading fluency impact was -3.9, statistically significant at the 0.05 level, while the TOWRE PDE impact was 1.7 and not significant. The report states the interventions "led to a small reduction in oral reading fluency."

"For students in the fifth-grade cohort, the four interventions combined improved phonemic decoding on one measure, but led to a small reduction in oral reading fluency."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Decoding — outcome: instruction changes it
• Reading Fluency — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Failure Free Reading, the only word-level-plus-comprehension program, showed impacts for third graders but no impacts for fifth graders — related
• Four remedial reading interventions combined improved phonemic decoding, word reading accuracy and fluency, and reading comprehension for third-grade struggling readers one year after the interventions ended, though not on all measures — related
• The four reading interventions did not improve state assessment (PSSA) scores; for fifth graders they lowered reading and mathematics scores — related
• The interventions narrowed some reading gaps, reducing the Word Attack gap by about two-thirds for third graders and one-half for fifth graders — related
• Younger struggling readers benefited more: the interventions generally helped third-grade cohort students more than fifth-grade cohort students — a broader claim this one bears on
• A struggling fifth-grade reader with ADHD gained one full grade level in reading over six weeks of iPad-mediated tutoring — related