The Impact of Decodable Texts on Second Grade Fluency Rates in a Title 1 Elementary School

  • Alyssa Spence

Student thesis: Doctoral ThesisDoctor of Philosophy

Abstract

This study used a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design to examine how decodable tests affect second-graders at a Title 1 elementary school. It aimed to see how oral reading fluency (ORF) and accuracy were impacted by different texts. Many second-graders struggle with reading fluently, vital for comprehension. In 2023-2024, 61% of students promoted to second grade still read below level. The study compared decodable texts with a hybrid approach (decodable and leveled readers). Eight classrooms were split into two groups for 8 weeks: one used only phonics-aligned texts from UFLI, the other alternated between decodable and leveled texts. ORF was measured weekly, with accuracy tested at Weeks 1, 4, and 8. A Mixed ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Both groups showed significant growth. The Decodable-Only group gained slightly more WCPM (+37.36) than the Hybrid (+31.67), but not significantly. The Hybrid group improved more in accuracy (+11.40%). Results suggest both practices are effective, aligning with the Science of Reading and offering instructional flexibility.
Date of AwardJan 1 2025
Original languageEnglish
SupervisorRoslyn Doctorow (Supervisor), Julie Alemany (Advisor) & Kimberly Durham (Advisor)

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