Paraprofessional Reading Tutors: Assessment of the Edmark Reading Program and Flexible Teaching

The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of two strategies for using undergraduate paraprofessionals as tutors for first-grade children with reading difficulties. The two groups of undergraduates taught first graders the same 150 words, and both reinforced (socially and materially) correct performances. However, one group employed a programmed method of word presentation (i.e., the Edmark Reading Program), while the other group of tutors was allowed flexibility in the pacing and methods for presenting words. The performance of each reading group was compared to that of a control group who engaged in educational activities not directly related to reading. Thirty-six poor readers were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. Subjects were tutored after school by university undergraduates for an average of twenty-three 40-minute sessions. Children in both reading groups showed significantly more improvement than controls on an oral reading posttest of the 150 criterion words. Treatment effects did not emerge on a test composed mainly of noncriterion words.