Running head: INDEPENDENT DAILY CLASSROOM READING
Independent Daily Classroom Reading and its Effects on
Standardized Tests
Research Proposal
Stephanie J. S. Moffitt
University of South Florida
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Abstract
This study will attempt to show that there is no correlation between a program of daily
independent reading in the classroom and increased standardized test scores. The design of the
study is quasi-experimental time-series, using a pre-test, post-test, and three observation points,
which will be graphed to determine whether or not there is a significant increase in
developmental scale score points on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test after a full year
of program implementation.
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Independent Daily Classroom Reading and its Effects on Standardized Tests
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is administered once per year,
usually in March. All students in grades three through ten take the reading portion of the FCAT.
Schools use FCAT data to determine whether a student will need to be placed into an intensive
reading class. Students who score below a Level 3 (basic mastery) must be placed in a reading
class the following school year. This study employs a single-group quasi-experimental design to
show that no relationship exists between independent daily engaged reading and increased
standardized test scores. It uses FCAT data and data from Florida Assessments for Instruction
in Reading (FAIR) as pre-test (8th grade FCAT), three observation points (FAIR) and post-test
(9th grade FCAT).
Literature Review
The problem addressed in this proposal is the question of whether or not independent
daily classroom reading will increase students’ reading ability, and subsequently their reading
test scores. The program of independent reading this study will implement is one that has been
touted as an important factor in increased standardized reading test scores and is sometimes
called silent sustained reading, but more recently has been called by many other names. It is,
basically, independent reading practice which takes place in the classroom. The National
Reading Panel (2000) determined that silent sustained reading was not effective in increasing
students’ ability to comprehend texts, and that there was little or no effect on standardized test
scores when this teaching practice took place in classrooms. Despite that evidence, ongoing
research has continued for the past ten years, yet only concedes that while it is true that silent
sustained reading is not effective, it is not effective because it was implemented incorrectly in the
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classroom. The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) states in a JustReadFlorida (2008)
report that independent reading activities account for twenty percent of students’ reading ability.
That same report recommends that independent reading practice involve students’ reading texts
at their reading level, which can be as low as three or more levels below their grade level
assignment. John Guthrie of the University of Maryland has done a considerable amount of
research on student motivation and engaged reading, and is a proponent of the theory:
In this perspective, highly engaged readers are both internally motivated and
strategic, and less engaged readers show lower motivation and less use of
strategies for comprehending text. Consistent with this perspective, Fredricks,
Blumenfeld, and Paris (2004) proposed that engagement is a multidimensional
attribute including behavioral engagement (actively performing academic learning
tasks), cognitive engagement (using high-level strategies to foster deep learning),
and emotional engagement (enjoying academic tasks and expressing enthusiasm
about learning) (Wigfield & Guthrie, 2008).
Guthrie has amassed a large body of work, seemingly in response to the National
Reading Panel study. He and others still consider it an important component of reading
achievement and it is recommended also by JustReadFlorida (2008), albeit with qualifications,
and is therefore a continued practice.
Methodology
The design of the study is quasi-experimental as there is no random assignment of
subjects to the group (Powell & Connaway, 2004). All incoming ninth graders who scored a
Level 2 on the eighth grade FCAT will be placed into the study group. These will consist of
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approximately 100 students in five reading classes, and these students are generally assumed to
be reading three or more levels below their assigned grade, per FCAT score and level.
This study will use a time-series design, and the data will be compiled by the classroom
teacher. The students’ data will be graphed over the twelve months between state assessments,
including developmental scale score, FCAT success probability on FAIR tests (computed by the
testing software), and scores on the four individual categories of the FCAT. The data will be
broken down into the four tested components of the FCAT: main idea, plot, and purpose; words
and phrases in context; reference and research; and comparisons and cause/effect. Using
inferential statistics, the difference between the developmental scale scores (DSS) from the two
administered FCATs will be used to determine “learning gains,” currently defined by an increase
in the DSS of 78 points. If the mean of the difference does not show learning gains (is not at
least 78 points), no correlation will be assumed (Powell & Connaway, 2004).
The classroom teacher will obtain FCAT data from the state reports which are sent to
each school district, which are reported by teacher, classroom, and student, and further reported
by tested component. FAIR data will be obtained through Florida’s Progress Monitoring &
Reporting Network (PMRN), a tool which disaggregates the data much the same way, but
includes an FCAT success probability with each assessment.
Budget
There are two ways to view a budget for this study. On one hand, it could be said that the
study will cost nothing, as these tests will be administered and these students will be placed into
these classes even if no study takes place, or even if a program of independent daily reading is
not implemented. The costs associated with the study will exist with or without it. The reading
material the students will be using already exists, or can be accessed via the Internet. On the
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other hand, one could factor in the cost per student of administering, scoring and reporting the
FCAT data and then dividing per student expenditures by seven (there are seven courses in the
school day, this study will take place in the reading course). It would also be necessary to divide
the cost of employing a reading coach by the number of students in the study, and further
dividing by the number of hours the reading coach spends administering the FAIR test to these
students, and then adding all these factors to determine a final cost.
Limitations
The limitations of this design are such that it cannot rule out other factors such as
motivation to succeed as the FCAT is a high-stakes test, and has unpleasant consequences for
those who do not pass. For example, a student might spend independent reading time sleeping
every day, and still be able to increase his standardized test score sufficiently in order to avoid
being placed in a reading class the following year. There are a number of variables that cannot
be controlled, including parental involvement, other coursework (which may increase
knowledge), and other components of the reading instruction program.
Maturation is also a consideration, especially with the age group studied; students who
are entering high school have increased expectations in all coursework, increased expectations
for responsible academic behavior, and most tend to be maturing physically at this age at a rapid
rate as well. Since the study must take place over an entire year, there may be a significant
difference in student attitudes toward the test itself and/or a general level of increased academic
knowledge and responsibility by the end of the study.
External validity is weak in a time-series design, and the main threat to external validity
in this design is not the expected one: that these subjects might be more receptive to the program
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than the general population, but in fact, because they are struggling readers, they might be much
less receptive to the experimental variable (Powell & Connaway, 2004).
Expected Results
It is expected that there will be no correlation between independent daily reading and
increased standardized test scores. The studies that have preceded this one have used multiple
independent variables, and therefore cannot speak to the success of one program’s affect on
increased reading ability. The practice of independent daily reading might work if the student
choice of materials were removed from the method, the materials were leveled to challenge the
student, and do so rapidly. Further research in this area is necessary, for it only seems logical
that students who consistently spend their reading time consuming materials that are below their
expected level of mastery cannot increase their reading ability, they will only remain at that
level; they must be exposed continuously to material which challenges them, increases their
general world knowledge, and causes growth in reading comprehension. Mere practice at the
same level of inefficiency will not foster growth.
This study will attempt to validate the study done by the National Reading Panel ten
years ago; there is no correlation between independent reading practice and increased reading
ability, especially for students who are reading three or more levels below their assigned grade.
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References
Guthrie, J. T., Coddington, C. S., & Wigfield, A. (2009). Profiles of motivation for reading
among African-American and Caucasian students. Journal of Literacy Research, 41, 317353.
JustReadFlorida. (2008). Independent Reading Practice.
http://www.justreadflorida.com/LiteracyInstitute/PDF/IRPLiteracy.pdf
Powell, R. R., & Connaway, L. S. (2004). Basic research methods for librarians (4th ed.).
Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National
Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the
scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction
(NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Wigfield, A., Guthrie, J. T., Perencevich, K. C., Taboada, A., Klauda, S. L., McRae, A., &
Barbosa, P. (2008). The role of reading engagement in mediating effects of reading
comprehension instruction on reading outcomes. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 432445.