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¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 causal r2–r3 · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2013 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i0 In a randomized trial of 104 fifth-grade students across eight school units, WWC-calculated alphabetics effects were not statistically significant and the domain-average effect size of 0.19 was below the 0.25 substantively-important threshold. → torgesen-alphabetics q3 i0 In the same trial, reading fluency (effect size 0.08) and comprehension (effect size 0.00) domain averages were neither statistically significant nor substantively important. → torgesen-fluency-comprehension

Evidence¶

torgesen-alphabetics¶

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

q3 · i0 · causal · r2

Randomized trial assigning 32 school units in Pennsylvania to four reading interventions; 59 fifth graders received SpellRead™ (about 90 hours over six months) and 45 received the standard district curriculum. The alphabetics domain average effect size was 0.19, characterized as an indeterminate effect.

"The WWC-calculated estimates of program effects were not statistically significant. The average effect across the four outcomes was not large enough to be considered substantively important according to WWC criteria (i.e., an effect size of at least 0.25)."

torgesen-fluency-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 · i0 · causal · r3

Same randomized trial: the fluency domain average effect size was 0.08 (Oral Reading Fluency test) and the comprehension domain average was 0.00 (WRMT-R and GRADE Passage Comprehension), both characterized as indeterminate effects.

"The average effect size across the two outcomes was neither statistically significant nor large enough to be considered substantively important."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Four of six standards-meeting studies showed statistically significant positive effects and two showed substantively important positive effects on phonological processing — related
• 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 — related
• SMART® effects on comprehension were not statistically significant on either subtest, though the domain-average effect size was substantively important — related
• One year after the intervention ended, SpellRead™ effects were not statistically significant on the supplemental Torgesen et al. (2007) outcomes — 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
• 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 — 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
• A randomized controlled trial of Once found no significant effect on end-of-year DIBELS scores when students received well below the intended dosage — related
• Four supplemental reading comprehension curricula had no positive impact on fifth-grade students' test scores, with negative impacts in some cases — related
• Tyler et al. (2003) found no statistically significant differences between phonological awareness training and a morphosyntactic intervention (indeterminate effect) — related
• No significant differences in attention or working memory were found between intervention and control groups at either follow-up — related
• A struggling fifth-grade reader with ADHD gained one full grade level in reading over six weeks of iPad-mediated tutoring — related