Effects of an adolescent literacy program on ninth grade students deficient in literacy skills

Research indicates that many adolescent students struggle with reading skills. Accordingly, this quantitative study attempted to address the problem of ninth-grade students entering high school deficient in literacy skills. The purpose of this non-experimental study was to investigate the effects a remedial reading program called Ramp-Up Literacy had on the academic achievement of ninth-grade students classified as deficient in literacy skills. The two main components of the Ramp-Up Literacy program were extended time and modified instructional strategies. The research for this study was grounded in Bloom's mastery learning theory. The research questions sought to discover if students deficient in literacy skills who completed the Ramp-Up Literacy class performed better on standardized tests than students deficient in literacy skills who completed the standard ninth-grade literature class. Ex post facto data from groups of students from four different school years were used in the study. The study used a causal-comparative research design that compared treatment groups to control groups. The eighth-grade Georgian Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in reading was used to separate students into groups for the study. The ninth-grade literature End of Course Test (EOCT) served as the dependent variable in the study. The means of the EOCT total scale scores from the treatment groups and control groups were compared and analyzed using a t test for two independent samples. Students deficient in literacy skills who completed the Ramp-Up Literacy class scored significantly higher on the EOCT than students who completed the standard ninth-grade literature class. However, these results were not duplicated for students who scored low, but passed the CRCT in reading. These results suggest a need for high schools to expand remedial adolescent reading programs. This study could create positive social change by enabling more adolescents to master literacy skills, pass ninth-grade literature, and graduate high school.