Page 16 - S44 Compendium

Disability • Economically Disadvantaged • Speci c Learning Disability
Fall 2009 Spring 2010
310L
232L
133L
Gain: 66L
92L
77L
Gain: 140L
Gain: 177L
11L
14
BIDDEFORD SCHOOL DEPARTMENT, ME
STUDY PROFILE
Evaluation Period: 2009–2010
Grades: 4–8
Assessment: Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) Participants: N=36
Implementation: 45 to 90 minutes daily (Stand-Alone)
OVERVIEW
Located in southeastern Maine, Biddeford School Department (BSD) enrolls approximately 2,700 students in Grades PreK–12. The district’s student body is predominantly Caucasian (93%), with the remainder of the student population identi ed as 2% African American, 2% Hispanic, and 2% Asian/Paci c Islander. Just under half (43%) of all students qualify to receive free or reduced-price lunch.
Long interested in improving academic outcomes for their most struggling readers, BSD piloted System 44 during the 2009– 2010 school year with students in the district’s Intermediate School (Grades 4 and 5) and Middle School (Grades 6, 7,
and 8). Students were placed into System 44 based on low performance on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP), SRI, and SPI. Most System 44 students were students with disabilities, with the majority classi ed as having a speci c learning disability, autism, or an emotional disability. All classrooms implemented a System 44 stand-alone model during a 45- or 90-minute daily classroom period.
System 44 boosts reading achievement for students with disabilities.
RESULTS
Fall 2009 and spring 2010 SRI Lexile (L) data were analyzed for 36 students in Grades 4–8 who participated in the program during the 2009–2010 school year. Findings indicate that, overall, System 44 students made signi cant gains in reading comprehension. As Graph 1 shows, on average, System 44 students improved
their SRI performance from 92L at pretest to 232L at posttest, averaging a signi cant gain of 140L. Disaggregation of results by school level revealed that intermediate and middle school students demonstrated average gains of 177L and 66L, respectively.
GRAPH 1
Biddeford School Department System 44 Students, Grades 4–8 (N=36) Performance on SRI by School Level, 2009–2010
350 300 250 200 150 100
50 0
All
(N=36)
Intermediate
(n=24)
Middle
(n=12)
Note. The gain in Lexile was statistically signi cant for all students (t=4.94, p=.00).
SRI Lexile Score