Running head: BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 1

An Exploration into the Benefits of Reading Plus for Struggling Readers

Nickey Grandea

University of West Georgia

 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 2

An Exploration into the Benefits of Reading Plus for Struggling Readers

Introduction

According to Kofi Annan, “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope” (1997). Literacy,

the ability to read and write, is the foundation of educational success. Whitewater Middle

School has recently implemented Reading Plus, an online reading program, to improve reading

skills in struggling readers in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The continued use of the

program is contingent upon positive results in student reading achievement and motivation to

read.

Objectives

Goals of the Study

The primary goal of this experimental study is to determine the effectiveness of the

Reading Plus Program to increase Lexile scores of sixth grade students who participate in the

program for thirty minutes three times each week for eighteen weeks as compared to students

who participate in traditional reading instruction for the same time period. According to Cheung

and Slavin (2013), “there is a limited evidence base for the use of technology applications to

enhance the reading performance of struggling readers” (p. 296). Therefore, data to show

improvement is necessary to justify continued use of the program.

In addition to the quantitative data collected in the form of Lexile scores, students who

participate in the program will be surveyed to determine their attitudes toward reading.

Quantitative survey data will provide the evidence needed to make a determination as to whether

or not students’ enjoyment of reading has increased after using the program. This data, in
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 3

addition to the Lexile scores, will be used to make a determination on the program’s continued

use.

Research Questions and Hypotheses of the Study

How does the use of the Reading Plus online reading program effect the Lexile reader

measure of students who participate in the program for thirty minutes three times each week, as

compared to their peers who participate in traditional instruction? Do students who participate in

the Reading Plus online reading program have an increased positive attitude toward reading?

Students who use the Reading Plus program with fidelity (three sessions, thirty minutes in

duration, each week) will have larger increases in Lexile scores than students who participate in

traditional instruction alone. Additionally, these students will have increased positive attitudes

toward reading. The independent variable in this study is the use of Reading Plus. The

dependent variables are student Lexile measures and student attitudes toward reading.

Definitions of Key Concepts

Reading Plus is defined as “an online reading support curriculum for students. It allows

students to read interdisciplinary information or literacy texts and receive specialized academic

vocabulary and reading comprehension instruction while teachers monitor their progress and

performance” (Reading Plus, 2017). Lexile reader measure is defined at the score that a student

receives on a reading program test (About Lexile, 2017). This score is compared to the Lexile

text measure on a text to determine its readability for a student. Peers in this study are students

in the same grade with similar beginning Lexile measures. Traditional instruction includes direct

instruction in vocabulary, reading comprehension strategies, and sustained silent reading.

 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 4

Literature Review

According to Cheung and Slavin (2013), “learning to read is a complex task in which

many things must go right for a student to become a successful, strategic, and motivated reader”

(p. 278). When students struggle to read, all academic areas may be impacted. In their early

elementary years, students who struggle to read often overcome their difficulties with intensive,

one on one, tutoring. For many years, technology has been a promising option for increasing

reading proficiency for struggling readers. “In theory, computers can adapt to the individual

needs of struggling readers, building on what they can do and filling in gaps” (Cheung & Slavin,

2013, p. 278). However, previous research reveals that many factors impact the effectiveness of

technology based reading programs, including “the nature of the software, the role of the teacher,

the nature and quality of professional development and follow-up, the amount of time devoted to

the technology and nontechnology parts of each approach, how these activities are placed in

students’ days and weeks, what activities they replace, and much more” (Cheung & Slavin, 2013,

p. 297). Each program studied produced limited increases in reading ability in students.

In contrast, Lysenko and Abrami (2014) provide a more optimistic view of technology

integration and improved reading skills for struggling readers. Their conclusions reveal that

“although varied in their ability, pedagogical style, contextual and curricular specifics of their

schools and classrooms, teachers were able to integrate learning technology wisely to achieve

significant effects on their students’ reading comprehension” (p. 170). The teachers in this study

focused on self-regulated and meta-cognitive strategies along with the technology integration to

improve reading skills in their students. Additionally, “reading comprehension instruction

delivered by computer technology may reduce the challenges that teachers face as they try to

implement multiple, complex reading strategies in the classroom” (Lysenko & Abrami, 2014, p.
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 5

163). Allowing teachers more time in class to focus on individual students improves the overall

quality of reading instruction.

In the article “Seven Rules of Engagement: What’s Most Important to Know About

Motivation to Read,” Gambrell (2011) describes ways to increase motivation to read. Having a

variety of genres and reading options for students and providing student task choices increases

motivation; students are also motivated by success in challenging reading tasks (Gambrell,

2011). Gambrell suggests that teachers help students make appropriate choices in reading

materials by providing four or five options that relate to student interests and are at an

appropriate reading level. “This is called bounded choice because students still get to choose

what they want to read; however, the range of materials is narrowed to text at the appropriate

reading level (2011, p. 175).

The literature review provides information from studies that both confirm and deny the

effectiveness of technology applications to support struggling readers. The Reading Plus

program claims to have unique characteristics that were not included in the programs that were

reviewed previously, including a physical component involving eye movement, a cognitive

component involving vocabulary development, and an emotional component involving

motivation to read (Instruction, 2017). The motivation component involves providing choices

and scaffolding students so that they complete complex and challenging tasks. The effectiveness

of these strategies is documented in the literature review in a traditional classroom setting;

however, the online setting was not addressed. This study will provide information on the

effectiveness of the online program on increasing Lexile measures and motivation to read.
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 6

Methods

This research is an experimental study where quantitative data will be collected to

determine the effect of the Reading Plus Program on the Lexile scores and attitudes toward

reading of sixth grade struggling readers. The design is a randomized pretest-posttest control

group design.

Students will be chosen based on Lexile scores at the beginning of the sixth grade year.

These scores are determined based on the Scholastic Reading Inventory. Students with the

lowest Lexile scores will be chosen to participate in a reading remediation class. Participation in

Reading Plus will be determined by parent request among those in the reading remediation class;

parents must give approval for students to participate. Only sixteen licenses are available at

Whitewater Middle School. As they begin the program, they will complete a reading attitude

survey. Students who participate in the program will spend thirty minutes per session on three

days per week for eighteen weeks completing lessons online. The lessons are chosen by the

student based on interest, but the lessons fit the student’s current reading level. At the

completion of the study, students will complete another Scholastic Reading Inventory and the

reading attitude survey.

Students with similar Lexile scores who do not participate in the Reading Plus program

will receive traditional instruction in reading, including direct instruction to improve in reading

skills, novel studies, reading comprehension practice (with paper and pencil), and evidence based

writing instruction. These students will be given a reading attitude survey prior to beginning the

remediation class. At the completion of the study, students will complete the Scholastic Reading

Inventory and the reading attitude survey.

 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 7

Sample

The population for this study includes students who qualify for a reading remediation

program based on Lexile scores at the beginning of sixth grade. Participants will be chosen by a

simple random sampling method. All students who qualify for remediation will be given the

opportunity to participate; although, only the first sixteen students whose parents give permission

will participate in the Reading Plus program. The remaining students will participate in

traditional reading instruction for the same time period. The sample will consist of

approximately half males and half females, although this may vary based on parent permission

for participation. All of the students who participate in the study will be sixth graders,

approximately ten to twelve years old.

Instrumentation

Two instruments will be utilized to determine student reading ability and attitude. The

first instrument is the Scholastic Reading Inventory. This assessment is commonly used as a

growth measure at Whitewater Middle School. Each student takes the assessment at the

beginning, middle, and end of each school year. This assessment provides a Lexile reader

measure as the score.

The second instrument used in this study is the reading attitude survey. Through this

survey, students will use a rating scale of 1 to 5 to rate their enjoyment of reading. This survey

will be administered through a Google Form at the beginning and the end of the eighteen week

program. The survey will be produced by the researcher prior to the study beginning and will be

adapted from an existing reading inventory (McKenna & Keer, 1990, 6-12).
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 8

Data Analysis

In this study, participants will spend thirty minutes three times per week for eighteen

weeks using the Reading Plus program. The independent variable in this study is the use of

Reading Plus. The dependent variables are student Lexile measures and student attitudes toward

reading. The null hypothesis for this study is that there will be no difference in the Lexile reader

measure or attitude toward reading for the experimental group compared to the control group that

does not participate in the Reading Plus program.

Descriptive Analyses

At the completion of the eighteen week study, members of the Reading Plus participant

group and the control group will complete the Scholastic Reading Inventory and the Reading

Attitude Survey again. At this point, the scores will be plotted in a frequency polygon and

overall averages will be calculated (mean, median, and mode) for each group. This analysis will

allow researchers to get an initial view of whether or not overall improvement has occurred in

the Lexile scores of each group.

The same procedure will be followed to determine whether or not differences exist in the

participant groups’ attitudes toward reading. The survey results will be calculated from the

Likert scales in the survey following the same procedure described above. Based on the results,

researchers will have a representation of the positive or negative impacts of the eighteen weeks

of instruction on attitudes toward reading.

 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 9

Regression Analysis

The final step in the data analysis process for this study is the regression analysis. This

analysis will be used to evaluate whether significant differences in Lexile scores resulted from

the use of the Reading Plus program. Regressed gain scores will be calculated for each

participant in the control and the experimental groups. This analysis, given as the difference

between the predicated and the actual score, provides a more reliable measure of the correlation

between the pretest and posttest scores than a gain score alone (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2015,

275). These scores will indicate whether or not there was a significant difference between the

Lexile scores of the two groups. Thus, indicating whether or not the Reading Plus program is

effective enough to justify its continued use.

Scholarly Significance and Limitations

The proposed study involves comparing the Lexile scores and attitudes toward reading of

students who participate in the online Reading Plus Program verses students who participate in

traditional reading instruction. The practical applications of this study include providing

evidence that the program has a positive impact on student reading skills to justify its continued

use. In addition, little research exists in regards to the ability of instructional technology to

effectively remediate student reading skills. This study will add to the limited field of research.

A limitation of this study is the sample size. The number of students who participate is

limited by the number of licenses purchased. The maximum number of students who can

participate is sixteen. This number may not be sufficient to show a true relationship between the

program and improved reading skills. However, it is enough to justify further investigation of

the program. Another limitation of this study is the use of the Reading Plus program itself. It
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 10

must be implemented with fidelity; for this study, that means students must spend thirty minutes,

three times per week. In a school setting, it is difficult to ensure that each student participating

will meet these guidelines. At times, students are absent from school, schedules changes, special

events occur, breaks from school happen. These changes will result in possible changes in the

amount of time students devote to the Reading Plus program, thus impacting the results of the

study.
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 11

References

About Lexile® Measures for Reading. (2017). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from
https://lexile.com/educators/understanding-lexile-measures/about-lexile-measures-for-
reading/

Cheung, A. a., & Slavin, R. r. (2013). Effects of educational technology applications on reading

outcomes for struggling readers: A best-evidence synthesis. Reading Research

Quarterly, 48(3), 277-299.

Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. (2015). How to design and evaluate research in

education. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities.

Gambrell, L. B. (2011). Seven rules of engagement: What's most important to know about

motivation to read. Reading Teacher, 65(3), 172-178.

Instruction. (2017). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from

https://www.readingplus.com/solution/instruction/

Mckenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for

teachers. The Reading Teacher, 43(8), 626-639. doi:10.1598/rt.43.8.3

Lysenko, L. V., & Abrami, P. C. (2014). Promoting reading comprehension with the use of

technology. Computers & Education, 75162-172. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2014.01.010

Reading Plus - product reviews. (2017). Retrieved September 15, 2017, from

https://www.edsurge.com/product-reviews/reading-plu

SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES NEED FOR POLITICAL WILL AND RESOURCES

TO MEET CHALLENGE OF FIGHT AGAINST ILLITERACY | Meetings Coverage

 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 12

and Press Releases. (1997, September 4). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from

http://www.un.org/press/en/1997/19970904.SGSM6316.html

Section Not Evident Emerging Proficient Exemplary

I. Introduction (1 page) – 3 points
This section should include: 0 1 2 3
 Background Information Information is Information is Information is
not provided. provided but relevant and relevant,
is unclear, adequate for sufficient, and
insufficient, the proposed clearly
or irrelevant. study. supports the
proposed
study.
 Statement of the research Information The research The research The research
problem and rationale for not provided. problem is problem is problem is
the study stated, but is clearly stated clearly stated,
unclear, too and is relevant, and
broad/narrow researchable. researchable.
or irrelevant. Strong Rationale is
The rationale rationale extremely
for the study provided. The clear,
is unclear or rationale compelling,
weak. statement and clearly
generally supports the
justifies the research
research questions.
questions. There is a
clear link
between the
rationale and
the research
questions.
Objectives (1 page) – 3 points
 Purpose 0 1 2 3
The goals are Purpose is not Purpose is Exceptionally
not stated. clearly clearly clear in
described. described. purpose.
Goals are Goals are Goals are
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 13

stated but are realistic, realistic,

unclear, adequately clearly stated,
irrelevant, or stated and and clearly
too generally aligned with
broad/narrow aligned with the research
. the research problem.
problem.
 Research Questions and Information Questions/ Generally, Research
Hypotheses/ Propositions not provided hypotheses/ questions questions are
or no basis for propositions have proper clear, concise,
judgment. are missing, scope, are feasible, of
weak, or realistic, proper scope,
unclear. feasible, and and answer
Questions not adequately the purpose.
of sufficient phrased.
scope or are Each research
not feasible. question is
correctly
phrased, and
addresses
only one
aspect of the
research
problem.

All key
 Definitions of key Definitions for concepts/ter
concepts used in the Key key Definitions for ms are clearly
research questions concepts/term concepts/ter key defined/
s are not ms are concepts/ter explained.
defined. provided but ms are
are inaccurate provided and
or unclear. generally
adequate.
Literature Review (2 pages) – 3 points
Criteria: 0 1 2 3
 Critical review of literature Information is Findings from Some Evidence of
 Relevance not provided, leading evidence of sound
 Conceptual/Theoretical irrelevant, researchers satisfactory knowledge
framework incomplete, are included knowledge and critical
 Alignment and or with minimal with limited review of the
inaccurate. critical critical review literature
commentary. of the relevant to
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 14

relevant the study.

Cited literature, but
literature may with gaps and Developed a
not be or omissions. clear,
relevant to appropriate,
the study. Conceptual/ and justified
theoretical conceptual/
framework is theoretical
included; framework
however it is for the
not fully research.
developed or
justified.
Methods (1.5 pages) – 16 points
Type of study and research design 0 1 2 3
No selection or Research Research Research
justification of approach and approach and approach and
research design are design design are
approach and unclear, minimally realistic,
design. inappropriate, address the feasible,
or research clearly
underdevelop questions and described,
ed. goals. and aligned
with the
research
questions and
goals.
Sampling 0 1 2 3-4
Little or no Limited Reasonable Sampling
evidence of a evidence of evidence of a procedure is
sampling an feasible optimally
procedure. appropriate sampling chosen, fully
sampling procedure. justified, and
procedure. feasible.
Instrumentation 0 1 2 3-4
No Information is Instrumentati Instrumentati
information limited or on is on is
provided. instrumentati described and optimally
on is can provide chosen,
inadequate. the clearly
information described,
needed to and feasible.
respond to
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 15

the research
question(s).
Data Analysis 0 1 2-3 4-5
Little or no Limited Reasonable Clear
evidence of a evidence of evidence of a evidence of
data analysis an realistic data applying
plan. appropriate analysis plan. appropriate
data analysis data analysis
plan. A general procedures,
description of which
The the data adequately
description of analysis address
data analysis procedures is research
procedures is provided. questions and
incomplete or goals.
contains Criteria for Procedures
inaccuracies. the are
interpretation adequately
Criteria for of results are described.
the incomplete.
interpretation The type of
of results are results
incorrect or provided by
are not these
provided. methods is
indicated and
criteria for
interpretation
are fully and
accurately
explained.
Scholarly Significance and Limitations (1/2 pages) – 3 points
Criteria: 0 1 2 3
 Practical and theoretical No Minimal Recognition Recognition
implications information recognition of of some and adequate
 Limitations provided. the contributions explanation of
contributions and/or the practical
and limitations of and
limitations of the study. theoretical
the study. contributions
and
limitations of
the study.
 BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 16

Presentation and Writing - 2 points

Criteria: 0 1 2
 Clarity Generally poor Reasonably Clear and
 Writing mechanics use of English clear and correct use of
 APA characterized correct use of English
by numerous English characterized
errors, unclear, characterized by a clear
incorrect by generally style of
and/or illogical clear expression,
statements. expression, with few
with relatively imprecise
few imprecise and/or
and/or incorrect
incorrect statements.
statements.
Total: /30
BENEFITS OF READING PLUS 17