The Effects of Two Types of Reading Interventions on the Test Scores of Students who Have Intensive Special Needs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine which of two types of reading interventions, phonics-based or sight word-based, was more effective with improving reading scores of students with intensive special education needs on the TOWRE assessment. A quasiexperimental design was used, utilizing a pretest, posttest, and quarterly progress monitoring checks. Participants in the study included 14 students enrolled in a Multiple Intensive Needs Classroom between kindergarten and fourth grade from a midsize elementary school in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Six of the participants took part in the phonics-based intervention, while eight participated in the sight word-based intervention. Data was collected between 2010 and 2012 and was subsequently analyzed. It was hypothesized that there would be no difference between the scores of the two groups; however, the null hypothesis was rejected when, after analysis, it was determined that the mean posttest scores of the sight word group were significantly higher than the mean posttest scores of the phonics group. Recommendations for future research include duplication of the study using a true experimental design and conducting the research with various age groups to determine whether the results would remain consistent.