Waterford Early Reading Program™ showed no discernible effects on comprehension, with a small non-significant effect size on vocabulary¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2007 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The single study's one comprehension outcome (Stanford-Binet Vocabulary subtest) showed an effect size that was neither statistically significant nor substantively important, yielding a WWC rating of no discernible effects. → What Works Clearinghouse 2007

Evidence¶

What Works Clearinghouse 2007¶

What Works Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education. (2007). WWC Intervention Report: Waterford Early Reading Program™. July 16, 2007. http://www.pearsondigital.com/pdfs/werp/researchsummary-werp.pdf

q2 · i? · causal · r2

WWC analysis of the comprehension domain in Hecht & Close (2002): one outcome, the Stanford-Binet Fourth Edition Vocabulary subtest, with 76 students across six schools. The effect size was "neither statistically significant nor substantively important" (improvement index +4 percentile points).

"The study authors examined one vocabulary development outcome (the Vocabulary subtest of Stanford-Binet, Fourth Edition) and reported no statistically significant effect. The effect size was neither statistically significant nor substantively important."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• SMART® effects on comprehension were not statistically significant on either subtest, though the domain-average effect size was substantively important — related
• The evidence base for Waterford Early Reading Program™ is thin: only one of 36 reviewed studies met WWC evidence standards, and extent of evidence was rated small for both domains — a broader claim this one bears on
• Alphabetics improvement-index findings for Waterford Early Reading Program™ were inconsistent across outcomes, ranging from –26 to +37 percentile points — related
• The WWC rated Waterford Early Reading Program™ as having potentially positive effects on alphabetics, based on a substantively important average effect size with no statistically significant individual outcomes — related
• Waterford Early Reading Level One™ shows no discernible effects on preschool children's print knowledge — related
• Evidence base for Waterford Early Reading Level One™ is small, with no standards-meeting studies in four of six outcome domains — related
• Waterford Upstart participation shows statistically significant positive effects on early literacy skills in matched quasi-experimental cohorts — related
• In the qualifying quasi-experimental study, at-risk Kindergarten students using Waterford Level One for 15-minute daily sessions were matched to comparison students and pretested in fall and posttested in spring — related