Discussion of Findings
Discussion of Pretest and Posttest Change for All Students
The two students who participated in this study demonstrated some improvement in their reading comprehension skills. This was indicated by the increase in scores on the oral retelling rubrics of fiction and nonfiction text that were completed before, during, and after the study. Additionally, the students demonstrated higher scores on the posttest scores on the Informal Reading Inventory-7 (B/RIRI-7), which assessed comprehension of fiction and nonfiction passages. The scores obtained on the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) were higher overall from pre-intervention to post-intervention for fiction (subject B only) and nonfiction texts for both students. The scores for subject A should be viewed with caution and will be discussed further in the Analysis section.
Listening comprehension scores yielded inconsistent results indicating that a transfer effect was not strongly supported in this study. The students demonstrated a higher score on the posttest of the CELF-4, which measured comprehension of fiction and nonfiction texts. Results from the Informal Reading Inventory-7 (B/RIRI-7)showed a decrease in performance on the posttest for the fiction text for subject A, while subject B’s score remained constant. Both students demonstrated progress on posttest scores for nonfiction text on the B/RIRI-7. Subject A made gains on the posttest scores obtained from the oral retelling rubrics for fiction and nonfiction texts. Subject B showed gains on the narrative oral retelling rubric posttest; however, the score for the expository text remained the same prior to and following intervention.
The Metacomprehension Strategies Index (MSI) was administered prior to and following intervention to determine knowledge of strategies used before, during, and after reading. Both subjects demonstrated gains on the MSI, however, subject B’s change in score was small, while subject A's change in score was large. The scores obtained on the metacognitive awareness subtest of the DRA for fiction (subject B only) and nonfiction texts revealed no change in score for either subject A or B.