An evaluation of kindergarten reading intervention programs

Abstract

Four different reading programs (Scott Foresman, Road to the Code, Fundations and a teacher made program) are currently being used in one school system. A study was conducted to determine if one program had a greater impact on reading readiness and reading preparation of kindergarten students to enable them to acquire the necessary reading skills as set forth by the National Reading Panel. The primary concern involved reading on grade level in order to meet the guidelines set by the No Child Left Behind law. As set forth by No Child Left Behind, materials used either as reading curriculum or interventions must be researched based. An assessment was completed using DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). DIBELS is a researched based assessment that is used to identify weaknesses in reading skills. The five areas that DIBELS assesses are: initial sound fluency, letter naming fluency, phoneme segmentation, nonsense words and word usage. Assessments were conducted at the beginning, middle and end of the year on kindergarten students. Each of the programs was compared using a univariate analysis. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the four programs.