The Effectiveness of READ 180 with Fourth-Grade African American Male Students

• Main Author: Williams, Twana
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: ScholarWorks 2019
• Subjects: African American males; READ180; Educational Assessment; Evaluation; and Research; Terranova
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7210; https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/context/dissertations/article/8489/viewcontent/Williams_waldenu_0543D_22760.pdf

Fourth grade African American male students have the lowest rate of reading proficiency in the nation and are more likely to require remedial reading programs. Prior research suggested reading interventions that considered student ability, instructional practices, and curriculum rigor improved reading ability. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the influence of a remedial reading program, READ180, on 4th grade African American male students' reading comprehension as measured by 2 different standardized reading tests, TerraNova (TN) and Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) that are administered annually to all students. The theoretical framework was Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development. Research questions examined the differences in TN scores between students who received READ180 instruction compared to students who received traditional instruction as well as the effect on SRI scores of 7 students before and after participating in READ180. For data analysis, archival data were available for 2 years of SRI scores, but only a year of TN scores. An independent t-test for the TN scores between TN scores of READ180 students (n = 7) and traditionally instructed students (n = 19) showed no statistical difference (p = .092). A paired t-test indicated a significant (p < .009) increase in SRI posttest scores of READ180 students. The small number of subjects were under-powered and a result of available archival data, but the data met test assumptions. Implications for social change are that academically disenfranchised students may achieve reading proficiency when reading programs provide direct instruction that target, monitor, and intentionally support individualized learning needs.