Northeastern Educational Research Association. Efficacy of Blended-Learning Model Literacy Intervention for Struggling Adolescent Readers

• In Event: The Consortium of State and Regional Educational Research Associations: Distinguished Paper Session 3

Abstract

Research demonstrates that while the focus on literacy in early grades leads to notable gains for elementary students, secondary students’ literacy skills tend to stagnate in middle school and continue to decline in high school (Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy, 2010; Gamse, Jacob, Horst, Boulay, &Unlu, 2008; Rampey, Dion, & Donahue, 2009). To address this, practitioners and researchers developed and evaluated a blended-learning intervention for freshmen reading below grade level. Findings indicated that students who adhered to recommended usage frequencies of the computer-adaptive component exceeded the intervention reading comprehension growth targets. Differential improvement based on prior achievement was evidenced such that students with the lowest prior reading achievement demonstrated improved performance at only half the rate of their peers with higher levels of prior reading achievement. This evaluation may inform educators interested in secondary students’ literacy.

Author

• Maria Yasmeen Finger-Elam, Baltimore County Public Schools