Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Peter Ross
Abstract
Fewer than half of students demonstrated proficiency on Michigan state-administered summative assessments at the end of third grade at a rural, Title I school in Michigan. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare reading fluency gains between grade levels (i.e., kindergarten, first, and second grades) in an effort to better understand which grade level demonstrates the most growth. The framework for this research study was the constructs of the variability of learning disabilities. Using a sample of 260 cases, this ex post facto pre-post quantitative study investigated the measurable fluency gains between grade levels in the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) scores of students by using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Archived NWF and ORF scores were used to compare gain scores at each grade level. Three one-way ANOVA using composite gain score data, F(2, 236) = 26.619, p < .001; NWF gain score data, F(1, 162) = 102.30, p < .001; and ORF gain score data, F(1, 153) = 47.626, p < .001, revealed a statistically significant difference in mean fluency gain scores between the grade levels with fluency gain scores at the kindergarten level showing the largest difference while scores at the first-grade level showing the smallest difference. The results of this study are intended to inform educators and promote positive social change by providing insight into how to maximize student literacy by concentrating resources by identifying the grade level in which students demonstrate the highest growth.
Recommended Citation
Thill, Diana Dawn, "Literacy Score Gains in Grades K-2 in a Response to Intervention Program" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13829.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13829
