Effectiveness of secondary reading programs - the research

Effectiveness of secondary reading programs
By Jun Wang, Johns Hopkins University
Secondary reading performance has drawn increasing attention in recent years. In a study published in Reading Research Quarterly, Baye and colleagues conducted a quantitative synthesis on the effectiveness of reading programs for secondary students. 69 studies that met high evidence standards were identified, including 62 randomized and 7 quasi-experimental designs. All studies included took place in the US and the UK.
 
51 programs were evaluated across all studies. The examined programs were divided into 10 categories. Among them, 7 categories showed positive overall weighted outcomes, including tutoring interventions (ES=+0.24), cooperative learning (ES=+0.10), whole-school approaches (ES=+0.06), writing-focused approaches (ES=+0.13), content-focused approaches (ES=+0.08), strategy-focused instruction (ES=+0.09), and group/personalization rotation (ES=+0.09), whereas vocabulary-focused approaches, personalization approaches, and intensive group approaches demonstrated no positive outcomes.
Two cross-cutting factors, additional reading periods and technology applications, were also explored using random-effects models. No significant differences were found between studies providing extra reading periods and those that did not. Programs with extensive use of technology showed no greater impact than programs with little or no use of technology. Also, demographic and methodological factors were examined as moderators. Similar outcomes were found for struggling readers vs. all students and for middle vs. high schools. Promising outcomes were found for English learners. No significant moderating effects were found in terms of research designs (i.e., randomized vs. quasi-experimental designs, cluster vs. student-level designs).
In addition, authors summarized the commonalities among programs with positive outcomes: 1) emphasizing student motivation, peer relations, student-teacher relations, and socioemotional learning, and 2) supporting students to write well.

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