Special Education Students Make Dramatic, Unexpected Improvement in Reading
The reading abilities of special education students typically lag far behind those of students who are struggling in reading, but who do not qualify for SpEd services. Historically, SpEd students have made limited, if any, progress with every reading intervention made available to them. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Consider the data below. Submitted by school sites to Read Right Systems, the data confirms that special education students who participate in Read Right Reading Intervention Programs make dramatic, unexpected progress in reading. The reading improvement of Special Education students who have participated in Read Right is measurable. Check it out!
Read Right Special Education Data
For each of the two data sets below the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test (comprehension subset) was administered at entry into the program to special education students targeted to receive Read Right tutoring. The students were tested with a different form of the test when they exited the program. Results for students who had at least 20 hours of tutoring during the school year are presented below.
2016-2017 School Year Special Education Data from an Intermediate School
Mean Grade Equivalency (GE)
GE Gain 3.6
Average hours of Read Right tutoring: 141
Average hours of tutoring per grade level gain: 39
Mean Normal Curve Equivalency (NCE)
NCE Gain 14.2
A mean NCE Gain Score of 0.0 means the students held their own in the norming population, neither falling further behind nor closing the achievement gap. Thus low gain scores are statistically meaningful.
Researchers generally regard NCE gain scores between 1.9 and 3.2 to be indicative of an effective program.
See Borman, G.D., Hewes, G.M., Overman, L.T. & Brown, S. (2003) Comprehensive School Reform and Achievement: A Meta-Analysis. Reviews of Educational Research, 73 (2), 125-230.
2016-2017 School Year Special Education Data from a Grade 7-12 School
Mean Grade Equivalency (GE)
GE Gain 3.2
Average hours of Read Right tutoring:86
Average hours of tutoring per grade level gain: 27
Mean Normal Curve Equivalency (NCE)
NCE Gain 16.5
A mean NCE Gain Score of 0.0 means the students held their own in the norming population, neither falling further behind nor closing the achievement gap. Thus low gain scores are statistically meaningful.
Researchers generally regard NCE gain scores between 1.9 and 3.2 to be indicative of an effective program.
See Borman, G.D., Hewes, G.M., Overman, L.T. & Brown, S. (2003) Comprehensive School Reform and Achievement: A Meta-Analysis. Reviews of Educational Research, 73 (2), 125-230.
With results like these, school personnel responsible for special education programs naturally have great things to say about Read Right.
Read Right Case Studies: Special Education Students
Group data is a necessary component of due diligence when selecting intervention programs. However, the really important thing to know is the transformative effect the Read Right program has on participants and how that transformation changes their lives for the better.
The following case studies have been submitted from educators implementing the Read Right Intervention program with their special education students. (Student names have been changed to preserve their privacy.)
Case Study #1: An Autistic Elementary Student
Scott was clinically diagnosed as autistic and was under the care of several specialists including a neurologist. In spite of receiving services from the special education program at his school, he was , as a fourth grader, struggling with first-grade texts. His mother was desperate to get him help. Scott was severely depressed because every day he was asked to do things at school that he couldn’t do because he couldn’t read well enough to do them. At one point, his mother was concerned that he was suicidal, so she took him to the emergency room at the local hospital to get help.
In February of his fourth grade year, Scott became a student in the Read Right intervention program. In 1.5 years of participation, at the end of his fifth grade year, Scott had closed his achievement gap in reading. His mother emailed the following note to his Read Right tutor after his late-October teacher conference (sixth grade year):
Case Study #2: A Dyslexic Young Adult
Justin was diagnosed as severely dyslexic by Boston Children’s Hospital when he was in second grade. From then on, he received special education services at school, and his family hired private tutors to help him. When he finished sixth grade, he was struggling at a first-grade level of reading. At this point, his family made the difficult decision to send him as a boarding student to the internationally-known Landmark School for Dyslexics. After two school years his family took him out of that school and brought him home. He had made virtually no progress in reading in those two years. Justin finished high school in his home district–again receiving special education services and being assisted by private tutors. He graduated with a special diploma–still struggling at a first-grade level of reading.
Justin’s mother, an educator, heard Dr. Tadlock give a presentation about Read Right at an education conference. Intrigued, she spoke at length with Dr. Tadlock and then encouraged her son to become a student in Read Right. He reluctantly agreed–he was pretty tired of trying program after program, always with the same result: failure. He had no reason to believe that this would be any different. But it was. In just over 200 hours of participation in Read Right Justin eliminated his reading problem and became a totally excellent reader.
Then what happened? Justin attended a major university, was on the Dean’s list more than once, and earned a 4.0 his junior year. Then, much to the surprise of friends and family, he dropped out because had decided he wanted to be a general contractor. He became a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber so he would know what his sub-contractors were doing. He was a general contractor for a few years, and now he has established his own plumbing business.
Justin’s life would have been significantly different if his mother had not attended Dr. Tadlock’s presentation.
Video Testimonial From The Executive Director of A Special Education Cooperative
[blockquote author=”Dr. Pat Harper, Executive Director of Special EducationFreestone Navarro Bi-County Cooperative” ]For eight years, I have witnessed this reading program transform the lives of my students and their families. Establishing Read Right in our ten districts is the most important thing I have accomplished in my 24 years as an educator.[/blockquote]
Special Ed Director: Reading Program Produces “Phenomenal” Results
We encourage interested educators and researchers to speak directly with school administrators, teachers, and aides who are using Read Right to improve student reading ability. We welcome requests for reference lists and we invite you to listen to additional video testimonials now by clicking on any of the many more that are available in our Video Library.
