The QuickReads Advantage

The QuickReads Advantage Posted 05/16/2008 Permanent Link

Research-Based, Classroom-Validated

The innovative QuickReads text model was developed by Elfrieda H. Hiebert based on her research into the characteristics of classroom texts and related effects on student fluency and comprehension.

Called Text Elements by Task (TExT), her analytical model evaluates text difficulty on several parameters such as word repetition and use of high frequency words. By considering the various tasks involved in proficient reading, the TExT model has proven itself effective as a design tool for texts intended to promote fluency and comprehension.

According to Dr. Hiebert’s research, both instructional strategies and type of text are important contributors to fostering student fluency development. Nationally, research studies have clearly demonstrated that use of QuickReads print and technology helps close the achievement gap and enables students to meet or exceed performance standards. QuickReads ensures that children simultaneously develop the critical benchmarks of proficient reading as identified by the National Reading Panel (2000):

• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
• Background Knowledge.

Research into the Effectiveness of QuickReads

In 2006, a study was conducted by The Great Plains Institute of Reading and Writing (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) with 1,484 students in grades two through five of all learning abilities (below-, on- and above-grade level), including English language learners. The study assessed students with pre- and post-tests at the beginning and end of the intervention period to determine effectiveness.

The results of this study demonstrated that:

1. In all domains students receiving QuickReads instruction had higher growth in oral reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary than those students receiving regular classroom instruction.
2. QuickReads is an effective strategy for all students in 2nd through 5th grades regardless of their pre-text reading ability.
3. The use of technology in teaching reading fluency further accelerated student gains for the majority of students.
4. In the area of comprehension, the gains over the control group were significant.

Additional Research into the Effectiveness of QuickReads Technology Edition

In her research chapter, “The Promise of Automatic Speech Recognition for Fostering Fluency Growth in Children and Adults,” Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams outlined the findings of her 2006 Framingham, MA efficacy study wherein fluency gains for students using the technology edition of QuickReads far exceed those gains among students in the control group. In a brief 17-week study in which actual reading time as measured by the software was, on average, only 8 minutes per session. Dr. Adams explains:

In our study of grade 2–5 classrooms, those using QuickReads Technology for about 20 half-hour sessions showed remarkable growth in fluency. Their gains surpassed norm-based expectations by as much as 40% or nearly half a school year.

Dr. Adams’ study demonstrates the important contributions technology can make towards closing the literacy gap when it is properly integrated into classroom instruction.

Reference:
Adams, M. J. (2005). The Promise of Automatic Speech Recognition for Fostering
Literacy Growth in Children and Adults. In M. McKenna, L. Labbo, R. Kieffer, & D.
Reinking (Eds.), Handbook of Literacy and Technology, Volume 2. Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.