Longitudinal Study in Kansas – Does Reading Recovery Work in Kansas? A Retrospective Longitudinal Study of Sustained Effects

Background
Briggs and Young investigated the longer-term effects of Reading Recovery. The study compared a random sample of former Reading Recovery students (1998-1999) with a comparison group of students representing a normal range of reading and writing abilities from schools matched with Reading Recovery student schools. Comparison schools did not have Reading Recovery in 1998-1999 and were matched for size, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity.

The sample included Reading Recovery students from eight Kansas school districts that had the program available in 1998-1999. Of the 195 students still in their original school, 56 were randomly selected. Students representing the average range of achievement in three comparison schools matched to Reading Recovery schools for size, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity, with 79 students randomly selected for the comparison group.

Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, a standardized fourth-grade test measuring vocabulary, comprehension, and total reading achievement, was the measure used.

Findings
“This longitudinal study of a relatively small but statistically significant number of students found that when scores for a group of students originally identified as most at-risk for learning to read in first grade were compared to scores of a randomly selected comparison group spanning all ability levels, the at-risk children who successfully finished their individual Reading Recovery programs performed at near-mean levels compared to the comparison group” (p. 62).

Authors
Researchers for this study were Dr. Connie Briggs, associate professor in the Teacher’s College and director of Kansas Regional Reading Recovery Center at Emporia State University, and Brian K. Young, graduate research assistant at Emporia State University.