| The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a standards based intervention, Accelerated Reader (AR), on the academic achievement of ELL students on the English-Language Arts California Standards Test. A nonequivalent control groups design with one dependent outcome and two matched control groups was used. This design consisted of an experimental group and two control groups that were not randomly assigned. The AR treatment was administered only to the experimental group and pre to post intervention comparisons were limited to the experimental school.; Participants in this study consisted of the total student population of 952 students at an elementary school. Out of this population, 563 are considered ELL students. The intervention, Accelerated Reader, began in the fall of the school year and continued until the end of the same school year. The primary student outcome, English-Language Arts California Standards Test performance, was measured in April. Performance level data were coded on a 0-4 scale and the analysis was limited to grades 2-5.; Qualitative findings reflect that the intervention was implemented in a uniform manner, thereby producing implementation fidelity. Teachers and administrators unanimously expressed an increased level of reading comprehension by students as a result of using the intervention.; In the experimental school, improvement in test performance from the year prior to the intervention to the year following the intervention was uniformly positive at all grade levels with gains ranging from .13 to .20 of a proficiency band and .17 in the four combined grade levels. Effect sizes were small, ranging from .12 to .17. Statistically, the findings were not significant, but given the positive results in each grade level, the intervention was judged to be practically significant.; Quantitative findings regarding the comparison of the experimental school in conjunction with the two matched control schools resulted in inconsistent results. Statistically significant differences were not found for grades two through four. Fifth grade differences were statistically significant and further analysis of the means indicated that school growth from pre to post intervention in the experimental school was greatest in the experimental school. |
