Retention of Reading Intervention Effects from Fourth to Fifth Grade for Students with Reading Difficulties

This study examined and quantified the maintenance of reading comprehension effects from a fourth grade intervention for students with reading difficulties across the summer into the fall of fifth grade. Fourth grade students with reading comprehension difficulties were randomly assigned to a multi-component reading intervention (Passport) or to typical school services. Students in the treatment received daily intervention in small groups of 4-7 students across the fourth grade school year. Students (n = 269) were followed into their fifth grade year. Groups were equivalent at baseline and the treatment group significantly outperformed the comparison group at posttest. Students in the treatment continued to grow in reading comprehension over the summer at a rate of approximately 25% of the original growth, suggesting partially fleeting effects of the intervention. Treatment students maintained the higher levels of reading comprehension from the end of the fourth grade intervention to the beginning of fifth grade. [This paper was published in "Reading and Writing" v35 p277-288 2019 (EJ1216573).]