Response to Intervention for Middle School Students With Reading Difficulties: Effects of a Primary and Secondary Intervention

TLDR

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a yearlong, researcher‑provided Tier 2 intervention for sixth‑grade readers. The intervention focused on word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, and was compared to a similar group receiving school‑provided instruction while all students benefited from teacher professional development integrating these practices. Students in the Tier 2 program achieved gains in decoding, fluency, and comprehension, with significant improvements in word attack, spelling, state accountability, passage comprehension, and phonemic decoding efficiency, though effect sizes relative to the comparison group were small (median d = +0.16).

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a yearlong, researcher-provided, Tier 2 (secondary) intervention with a group of sixth-graders. The intervention emphasized word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, Participants scored below a proficiency level on their slate accountability test and were compared to a similar group of struggling readers receiving school-provided instruction. All students received the benefits of content area teachers who participated in researcher-provided professional development designed to integrate vocabulary and comprehension practices throughout the school day (Tier 1). Students who participated in the Tier 2 intervention showed gains on measures of decoding, fluency, and comprehension, but differences relative to students in the comparison group were small (median d = +0.16). Students who received the re searcher-provided intervention scored significantly higher than students who received comparison intervention on measures of word attack, spelling, the state accountability measure, passage comprehension, and phonemic decoding efficiency, although most often in particular subgroups.