In the Rashotte, MacPhee, and Torgesen (2001) RCT, SpellRead™ produced statistically significant positive effects on alphabetics and reading fluency for fifth- and sixth-grade struggling readers after eight weeks¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 causal r2 · q3 · i2–i3
Currency · newest study 2013 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 In a randomized trial with 33 fifth- and sixth-grade students, the authors reported statistically significant positive effects on seven of eight alphabetics outcomes and on both reading fluency outcomes, with domain-average effect sizes of 1.03 (alphabetics) and 0.65 (fluency). → rashotte-findings q3 i2 In the same trial, the average comprehension effect size across two outcomes was 0.54, which the WWC characterized as a substantively important positive effect although it could not confirm statistical significance. → rashotte-comprehension

Evidence¶

rashotte-findings¶

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. (2013, January). Adolescent Literacy intervention report: SpellRead™. http://whatworks.ed.gov

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Randomized trial in which 33 fifth- and sixth-grade students in Newfoundland were matched in pairs and randomly assigned to SpellRead™ or the regular literacy program, receiving 31–35 hours over eight weeks. The alphabetics domain average effect size was 1.03 and the fluency average was 0.65, both statistically significant per the WWC tables.

"The authors reported statistically significant positive effects on fifth and sixth graders’ scores on seven of eight measured outcomes, the exception being the TOWRE Sight Word Efficiency subtest."

rashotte-comprehension¶

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. (2013, January). Adolescent Literacy intervention report: SpellRead™. http://whatworks.ed.gov

q3 · i2 · causal · r2

Same randomized trial, comprehension domain: GORT-3 Comprehension (effect size 0.64) and WDRB Passage Comprehension (0.43), with a domain average of 0.54 and improvement index +20. The WWC characterized this as a substantively important positive effect.

"Although the WWC could not confirm the statistical significance of the findings, the average effect size across the two outcomes was large enough to be considered substantively important."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Decoding — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Corrective Reading produced statistically significant positive effects on oral reading fluency in a randomized controlled trial of third-grade struggling readers — related
• SpellRead™ shows potentially positive effects on alphabetics for adolescent readers, with an average improvement index of +23 across two studies — a broader claim this one bears on
• In the Torgesen et al. (2006) RCT, SpellRead™ showed indeterminate effects for fifth graders, with no statistically significant or substantively important effects in any domain after six months — related
• SpellRead™ shows potentially positive effects on comprehension for adolescent readers, with an average improvement index of +11 — a broader claim this one bears on
• SpellRead™ shows potentially positive effects on reading fluency for adolescent readers, with an average improvement index of +14 — a broader claim this one bears on
• SFA® shows positive effects on alphabetics for beginning readers in grades K–4 — related
• In the Rashotte et al. (2001) study, the WWC confirmed statistically significant SpellRead™ effects on four of seven alphabetics outcomes — related
• Comprehension effects of SpellRead™ differed between the two studies: Torgesen et al. found no significant effects while Rashotte et al. found significant effects on both outcomes — related
• SpellRead™ has potentially positive effects on reading fluency, with an average improvement index of +9 percentile points — a broader claim this one bears on
• Fluency-building activities for struggling readers in grades 4–9 have strong evidence, based on 33 studies — a broader claim this one bears on
• Reading Recovery has potentially positive effects on alphabetics for beginning readers — related
• Comprehension-building practices for struggling readers in grades 4–9 have strong evidence, based on 34 studies — related
• A struggling fifth-grade reader with ADHD gained one full grade level in reading over six weeks of iPad-mediated tutoring — related
• Reading Partners tutoring significantly improves reading comprehension for grade 2-4 struggling readers, with a total effect size of +0.10 — related
• Word-reading interventions yield significant positive effects on adolescent literacy outcomes overall (g = 0.30) — related