For first-grade nonresponders, PALS showed a substantively important negative (but statistically non-significant) effect on reading comprehension versus adult tutoring¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr1·q3·i1small
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 i1 McMaster et al. (2005) reported a negative mean difference between the PALS group and the comparison group on the CRAB Comprehension subtest for grade 1; the WWC-calculated effect of –0.31 (improvement index –12) 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 · i1 · causal · r1
Comprehension outcome from the randomized field trial of 41 first-grade nonresponders; Appendix C.3 shows a mean difference of –0.22, effect size –0.31, and improvement index –12, with p > 0.05. The WWC judged the effect "substantively important" despite non-significance.
"McMaster et al. (2005) reported a negative mean difference between the PALS group and the comparison group on the Comprehension subtest of the Comprehensive Reading Assessment Battery (CRAB) for students in grade 1."
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 no statistically significant effects on seven alphabetics outcomes compared with adult tutoring — related
- PALS showed no statistically significant effects on near-transfer and far-transfer reading fluency for first graders — related
- Peer-Assisted Literacy Strategies showed a substantively important positive (but statistically non-significant) effect on WRMT-R Passage Comprehension for first graders — related
- PALS shows potentially positive effects on reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities (average effect size 0.75, not statistically significant) — related
- Early literacy intervention reduced the proportion of nonresponders to 7.05% versus 25.35% among controls
- 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-mcmaster-comprehension-negative-effect |
title |
For first-grade nonresponders, PALS showed a substantively important negative (but statistically non-significant) effect on reading comprehension versus adult tutoring |
description |
For first-grade nonresponders, PALS showed a substantively important negative (but statistically non-significant) effect on reading comprehension versus adult tutoring |
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 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.