Selecting Software with Caution: An Empirical Evaluation of Popular Beginning Reading Software for Children with Early Literacy Difficulties

How Teachers May Influence the Impact of Computer Adaptive Instruction: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Implementing Lexia Core5 in Second-Grade Classrooms

“…The failure of many American children to achieve grade-level reading proficiency by fourth-grade continues to be a national concern. As the only national assessment of reading skills, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is the most frequently cited statistic for American students' reading ability (Santoro & Bishop, 2010). According to the scores from the 2015 NAEP, 31% of fourth-grade students could not read at a basic level, indicating that they "were unable to locate relevant information, make simple inferences, use their understanding of the text to identify details that support a given interpretation or conclusion, [or] .…”

“…For many children, providing systematic, research-based core instruction is not sufficient to achieve grade-level reading proficiency. For these at-risk students, schools and teachers must provide additional instruction and support-known as intervention-to help them develop the necessary skills to become proficient readers (Gibson, Cartledge, & Keyes, 2011;Santoro & Bishop, 2010). Santoro and Bishop (2010) underscored the importance of providing intervention, stating that "one of the most compelling findings from reading research is that children who get off to a poor start in reading rarely catch up" (p. 99).…”

“…For these at-risk students, schools and teachers must provide additional instruction and support-known as intervention-to help them develop the necessary skills to become proficient readers (Gibson, Cartledge, & Keyes, 2011;Santoro & Bishop, 2010). Santoro and Bishop (2010) underscored the importance of providing intervention, stating that "one of the most compelling findings from reading research is that children who get off to a poor start in reading rarely catch up" (p. 99). Cooper et al (2017) argued that for struggling readers to make more than yearly growth in reading, they will need both core instruction and effective intervention strategies and resources aligned to the same standards.…”

“…The Prevention Committee (1998) identified three potential stumbling blocks to students becoming skilled readers: (a) "difficulty understanding and using the alphabetic principle," (b) "failure to transfer the comprehension skills of spoken language to reading," and (c) a lack of motivation to read or appreciation of the rewards of reading (p. 2). Effective intervention programs, therefore, must address phonological awareness, word decoding, and letter naming and sound knowledge (Mioduser, Tur-Kaspa, & Leitner, 2000;Santoro & Bishop, 2010).…”

“…Given the gap in access to technology between the lowest and highest poverty schools and the primary ways that computers are being used in schools, it is important to understand the benefits of using computers to learn and practice basic skills. There is a convergence in education technology research on the importance of key instructional design features for Computer Adaptive Instruction that may provide advantages over traditional classroom instruction (Fälth et al, 2013;Hall et al, 2000;Lovell & Phillips, 2009;Santoro & Bishop, 2010). Santoro and Bishop (2010) found that "well-designed instructional software includes many of the critical features found to be effective for students with reading difficulties [including] explicit immediate feedback, extensive skills review, and consistent error correction procedures" (p. 100).…”