Peer-Assisted Literacy Strategies showed a substantively important positive (but statistically non-significant) effect on WRMT-R Passage Comprehension for first graders¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr2·q3·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2012 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · 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 i2 For Mathes and Babyak (2001), the WWC computed a positive difference on WRMT-R Passage Comprehension for the combined PALS and PALS plus Mini-Lessons conditions versus comparison; the effect of 0.44 (+17 improvement index) was not statistically significant but was substantively important. → 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
q3 · i2 · causal · r2
Study meeting WWC evidence standards with reservations: 130 first graders in five Florida schools, teacher random assignment but non-random student selection. Appendix C.3 shows a mean difference of 2.95, effect size 0.44, and improvement index +17, with p = 0.07 — "not statistically significant."
"The WWC-calculated effect was not statistically significant, but it was large enough to be a substantively important positive ef fect (i.e., an effect size of at least 0.25)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Peer-assisted instruction and small-group instruction by adults have large, robust short-term effect sizes for K-6 struggling students — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
- For first-grade nonresponders, PALS showed a substantively important negative (but statistically non-significant) effect on reading comprehension versus adult tutoring — related
- The effect on SAT math scores was positive but not statistically significant, though large enough to be substantively important (effect size at least 0.25) — related
- Early literacy intervention reduced the proportion of nonresponders to 7.05% versus 25.35% among controls
- For first-grade nonresponders, PALS showed no statistically significant effects on seven alphabetics outcomes compared with adult tutoring — related
- Teachers and students report generally favorable impressions of PALS, with least favorability toward team-based structure components — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
pals-mathes-babyak-positive-comprehension-effect |
title |
Peer-Assisted Literacy Strategies showed a substantively important positive (but statistically non-significant) effect on WRMT-R Passage Comprehension for first graders |
description |
Peer-Assisted Literacy Strategies showed a substantively important positive (but statistically non-significant) effect on WRMT-R Passage Comprehension for first graders |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2012 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
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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