In the grades 4-5 cluster RCT, ITSS produced statistically significant positive effects on all six comprehension outcomes (average effect size 0.24)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 causal r3 · q3 · i1–i2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i1 Fourth- and fifth-grade students using ITSS outperformed comparison students on the Gray Silent Reading Test (effect size 0.15, improvement index +6, p < .01) and on five researcher-designed structure-strategy measures. → gsrt-45-1 q3 i2 The largest effect in the grades 4-5 study was on the Short Comparison Text: Main Idea Test, with an effect size of 0.51 and improvement index +20. → mainidea-45-1

Evidence¶

gsrt-45-1¶

What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. (2020, April). Web-based Intelligent Tutoring for the Structure Strategy (ITSS). https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/703

q3 · i1 · causal · r3

Cluster randomized controlled trial in 45 rural and suburban elementary schools; 130 intervention and 129 comparison classrooms. On the standardized GSRT with 4,856 students, the intervention group mean was 32.12 versus 30.42, effect size 0.15, improvement index +6, p < .01.

"Gray Silent Reading Test (GSRT) Fourth- and fifth-grade students 4,856 32.12 (11.52) 30.42 (11.37) 1.70 0.15 +6 <.01"

mainidea-45-1¶

q3 · i2 · causal · r3

In the same grades 4-5 cluster RCT, the researcher-designed main idea summary measure showed intervention mean 3.46 versus comparison 2.65 with 4,035 students, effect size 0.51, improvement index +20, p < .01 — the largest printed effect in Table 3.

"Short Comparison Text: Main Idea Test Fourth- and fifth-grade students 4,035 3.46 (1.58) 2.65 (1.58) 0.81 0.51 +20 <.01"

Discussion¶

In the grade 7 cluster RCT, ITSS produced statistically significant positive effects on all eight comprehension outcomes (average effect size 0.23) — related
ITSS shows a positive but statistically non-significant effect on Grade 4 reading comprehension (effect size +0.10) — reports the opposite
ITSS significantly improves Grade 5 reading comprehension after 6 to 7 months of implementation (effect size +0.20) — related
ITSS has positive effects on reading comprehension, based on two studies meeting WWC standards covering 6,724 students — a broader claim this one bears on
Text generation interventions improve learning with texts compared to reading them, with a medium overall effect (g = 0.41) — related
Disciplinary Literacy Instruction Improves Comprehension — related
Reading comprehension strategy programs in grades 3–6 yield a medium average effect size of 0.34 — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`itss-grade45-rct-comprehension-gains`
`title`	`In the grades 4-5 cluster RCT, ITSS produced statistically significant positive effects on all six comprehension outcomes (average effect size 0.24)`
`description`	`In the grades 4-5 cluster RCT, ITSS produced statistically significant positive effects on all six comprehension outcomes (average effect size 0.24)`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2020`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-09`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	2 — `gsrt-45-1`, `mainidea-45-1`

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