Fluency effects of Fluency Formula™ differ by initial ability: positive for low-ability students (effect size 0.66) and negative for high-ability students (effect size –0.21), both non-significant¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2007 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Low-ability second-graders showed a positive fluency effect (0.66, improvement index +25) while high-ability students showed a negative effect (–0.21, improvement index –11); neither was statistically significant. → Fluency Formula™ WWC Intervention Report 2007

Evidence¶

Fluency Formula™ WWC Intervention Report 2007¶

Fluency Formula™ WWC Intervention Report. (2007). What Works Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education. http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/fluencyformula/pdfs/FF_EffectivessReport.pdf

q3 · i? · causal · r?

Subgroup analysis of the randomized controlled trial (Appendix A4): low-ability subgroup (12 classrooms/72 students) effect size 0.66, ns, +25; high-ability subgroup (12/56) effect size –0.21, ns, –11 on the OFA.

"The study only reported intervention effects by high- and low-ability student groups, based on the OFA pretest score. These results are shown in Appendix A4."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Reading and Language — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it
• General Cognitive Ability — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• In the few studies that split by ability, learning techniques helped low-ability students and not high-ability students — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Fluency-building activities for struggling readers in grades 4–9 have strong evidence, based on 33 studies — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• The evidence base for Fluency Formula™ consists of a single small randomized controlled trial, with no studies addressing alphabetics or general reading achievement — a broader claim this one bears on
• Fluency Formula™ shows a positive but statistically non-significant effect on second-grade oral reading fluency (effect size 0.26, improvement index +10) — related
• Fluency Formula™ shows a negative but statistically non-significant effect on second-grade reading comprehension (effect size –0.28, improvement index –11) — related
• Oral word-reading fluency instruction shows a high effect size of 0.66, but evidence rests on a single study — related