K-PALS shows statistically significant positive effects on Rapid Letter Sounds for kindergarten students in all three training-support conditions¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr3·q4·i3large
Currency · newest study 2012 · 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.
q4 i3 The WWC confirmed a statistically significant positive difference between the K-PALS group and the comparison group on Rapid Letter Sounds for each of the three K-PALS conditions (workshop, workshop plus booster, workshop plus booster plus helper), with a domain average effect size of 0.86 and improvement index of +30. → Peer-Assisted Learning/Literacy Strategies 2012
Evidence¶
Peer-Assisted Learning/Literacy Strategies 2012¶
Peer-Assisted Learning/Literacy Strategies. (2012). WWC Intervention Report, Beginning Reading. U.S. Department of Education, What Works Clearinghouse. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/364
q4 · i3 · causal · r3
Randomized controlled trial (Stein et al., 2008) in 67 schools with 2,959 kindergarten students, reviewed by the WWC; the report confirms "a statistically significant positive difference between the K-PALS group and the comparison group" on Rapid Letter Sounds. Appendix C.1 shows a domain average effect size of 0.86 (+30 improvement index), p < 0.01 per comparison.
"a statistically significant positive difference between the K-PALS group and the comparison group for each of the three K-PALS conditions (workshop, workshop plus booster, and workshop plus booster plus helper) on Rapid Letter Sounds for kindergarten students."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- For first-grade nonresponders, PALS showed no statistically significant effects on seven alphabetics outcomes compared with adult tutoring — related
- PALS shows strong evidence of positive effects on first-grade literacy, with an average effect size of +0.23 across three studies — related
- Peer-assisted instruction and small-group instruction by adults have large, robust short-term effect sizes for K-6 struggling students — a broader claim this one bears on
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
pals-k-pals-significant-rapid-letter-sound-gains |
title |
K-PALS shows statistically significant positive effects on Rapid Letter Sounds for kindergarten students in all three training-support conditions |
description |
K-PALS shows statistically significant positive effects on Rapid Letter Sounds for kindergarten students in all three training-support conditions |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
strong |
newest_evidence |
2012 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-07 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — peer-assisted-learningliteracy-strategies-2012 |
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