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Research Overview / Library
READ 180: Traverse City Area Public Schools
At a glance
  • Demonstrates a Rationale
  • Program: Read 180®
  • Subjects: Intervention Curriculum, Literacy Curriculum
  • Report Type: Efficacy Study
  • Grade Level: Elementary
  • Region: Midwest
  • Population: Students with Disabilities
  • District Urbanicity: Suburban, Rural
  • District Size: Large
  • Implementation Model: 80+ minutes
  • District: Traverse City Area Public Schools, MI
  • Evaluation Period: 2006–2007
  • Participants: N=109
  • Outcome Measure: Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), Degrees of Reading Power (DRP), Reading Inventory
  • Study Conducted by: Scholastic Research
Overview
READ 180 students with disabilities made significant gains on the MEAP, DRP, and Reading Inventory.

During the 2006–2007 school year, Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAP) implemented READ 180 with its elementary students who scored within the first three stanines on the Degrees of Reading Power® (DRP) test, or in Level 3 or 4 on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP).

Approximately 42% of the students in the sample were designated as students with disabilities, which included students who were diagnosed as having an emotional impairment (6%), a learning disability (25%), a physical and/ or other health impairment (10%), and other (1%). Eighty-two percent were White, 10% were Hispanic, 9% were Native American, 3% were multiracial, 2% were Asian, and 1% were African American.

Results

In order to measure changes in reading skills, Reading Inventory® data was obtained from 109 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders who used the program during the 2006–2007 school year. Findings indicate that this sample of READ 180 students demonstrated a significant gain of 173 Lexile® (L) measures. Notably, when the results were analyzed by student group, students with disabilities made significant gains of 180L. These student gains were higher than those of the general education students on the Reading Inventory (Graph 1).

4.2 Traverse Graph1

GRAPH 1. Traverse City Area Public Schools READ 180 Students, Grades 4–6 (N=109)

Change in Reading Inventory Lexile Score by Education Classification, 2006 to 2007

READ 180 students also exhibited improvements on the DRP. Overall, the 94 fifth and sixth graders who had valid pretest and posttest DRP scores averaged a statistically significant gain of 9.6 DRP units. Further, students with disabilities gained 9.1 DRP units from pretest to posttest. Both students with disabilities and general education students in READ 180 exceeded the annual growth expectation of 4 DRP units (Graph 2).

Consistent with these findings, READ 180 students evidenced gains on the MEAP test, as well. As many as 65% of students who were reading at the Basic or Apprentice level on MEAP moved up one or more Performance Levels.

4.2 Traverse Graph2

GRAPH 2. Traverse City Area Public Schools READ 180 Students, Grades 5–6 (N=94)

Change in DRP Unit by Education Classification, 2006 to 2007

Note. Due to differences in when the DRP was given, 5th-grade gain was measured from fall 2006 to spring 2007, and 6th-grade gain was measured from spring 2006 to spring 2007.